Scarlet Dyed Girl
by jilnachtaugen
Summary: The red clan's strain, Anna is saved by a mysterious girl with golden eyes. She turns out to be an amnesiac and the only thing she knows is that someone is after her and her only hint is the rose tattoo on her back. As thanks for saving Anna, the King offers to take her in and protect her from whoever is after her and help her find her missing memory. Yata x OC (some Fushimi x OC)
1. Chapter 1: Amnesia

**Hey curious readers and K lovers! This is my first K fic. I sincerely hope you'll like it even though it does sound a bit cliche with the amnesia and all, but please give it a try. You never know! Enjoy and please tell me what you think in a review after! ;) Oh, and I should probably mention it's going to be action pact!**

 **Important notes : _Mikoto is not dead and Shiro is not missing!_**

* * *

It was a peaceful, casual afternoon in Shizume city. The Red King, Mikoto Suho was walking in the streets with a couple of his clansmen behind him. He looked bored as usual and the boys behind him were chatting about a recent fight they had. While blowing smoke out of his lungs, Mikoto looked at the other side of the street. Izumo and Anna should be joining them soon. The bartender and the girl had gone shopping for a few things and they were suppose to meet at the end of the next street. A few blocks away, Izumo Kusanagi had his hands full with bags filled with things for his bar. Anna, the young strain holding on to the bottom of his jacket, pulled a little harder, showing the blond man she wanted to go faster.

"Easy Anna. I know you want to see Mikoto, but be a little patient we're almost there."

The two odd companions made there way to the rendezvous point, when Anna spotted Mikoto on the other side of the street. The child, overjoyed to see her guardian, let go off Kusanagi's jacket and started running towards the Red King, ignoring the fact that the light was still red.

"ANNA!" Yelled out Kusanagi. "LOOK OUT!"

The girl had the bad reflex to freeze on the spot when she noticed the huge truck coming her way at a dangerous speed. Then something suddenly grabbed the girl around the waist and shoulder and threw themselves towards the opposite sidewalk. They rolled on the ground holding the young strain tight in their thin arms, keeping her from being grazed by the road. When they stopped rolling, the arms loosened. Anna got to her knees and turned around.

"ANNA! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

HOMRA clansmen all ran towards their young friend. Even Mikoto had dropped his cigaret. He knelt down next to her and took her in his arms.

"Don't do stupid things like that. I'm glad you're not hurt." His voice sounded as bored as usual but the young girl felt his relief when he held her. She slightly blushed.

"Hey boss?" Said Kamamoto. "What do we do about her?"

Mikoto looked at the ground. A teenage girl was lying on the ground, unconscious. She had long, light caramel colored hair held in a high ponytail and light skin. She was wearing an old gray shirt too big for her, that probably used to be blue, dirty and torn at the bottom, almost revealing her stomach, beige shorts and dirty old snickers without socks. The shoes looked like they were beyond use. She had scratches from the fall and was bleeding from the head and arms. But she also had older wounds. She'd been punched and had cuts about everywhere on her body. She was very skinny and looked like she lived on the street. Mikoto didn't have to think twice about it.

"Take her with us." Replied the red king flately.

One of the clansmen, Yo Chitose, picked up the girl bridal style. The young man had a reputation for being a womanizer but even he wouldn't do anything to a defenseless, injured girl. The people around watched without moving as the Red Clan carried the girl away.

* * *

 **HOMRA bar**

"Just looked at her cute face. She looks like a baby cat sleeping."

"I'm more interested in those long legs of hers."

"You're such a pervert, Yo. She might be like five years younger than you, man."

"So what? she's still a woman, Bando."

"Will you two shut the hell up? You're gonna wake her up!"

That's the conversation Misaki Yata heard when he stepped into the HOMRA bar. The young vanguard was already pissed off. He hadn't slept a wink and had fights with two gangs on the way here. Of course he'd won but that wasn't nearly enough to settle his mood. The last thing he needed was to hear useless conversations. However, he still wondered why everyone was gathered around the couch. Probably just watching Anna sleeping.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here? You were supposed to be on patrol today. Get your asses moving and do your job."

All the other clansmen turned around at once and yelled. "SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"HUH? The hell? You guys wanna pick a fight with me? Is that it?"

"Yata, seriously." Said Kamamoto in a quiet voice. "Quiet down."

"You're really asking for it, fatty." He said raising his fist.

"Yata." Called out Kusanagi from the other side of the bar. "Shut up and just look at what's on the couch."

Yata pushed the others out of his way to take a look and froze when he saw the sleeping girl. He jumped back. His jaw dropped open and his cheeks turned crimson. The others chuckled at the crow's reaction. He was probably the most reckless person in the gang and nothing scared him...except girls.

"WHAT THE HELL? WHY IS THERE A GIRL HERE?"

A knuckle crashed on top of his skull.

"OW! Mr Kusanagi! What'd you do that for?"

"Will you shut up already? You'll wake up the lady."

"She IS waking up, you guys." Said Bando.

All the clansmen gathered around the couch once more as the girl slowly emerged from her deep sleep. Her eyes opened slightly and she blinked a few times before keeping her eyes open for good. To everyone's big surprise, the girl's eyes were golden. She looked up to see nine faces staring at her. Her eyes widened and she sat up letting out a sound, half surprised half scared. All the guys kept staring at her and blushed all at once.

"So cute." They muttered in unison.

That is until they all received smashing punches on the head. Yata, still redder than any of them, pulled them back angrily.

"You morons! Don't scare girls like that! That's creepy!"

"But Yata, you were staring too..." Complained Kamamoto while rubbing his aching skull.

"Shut up, bastard! You were the ones having weird conversations about her legs!"

"That was Chitose!"

"For the love of my bar, shut your traps, all of you! That's no way to behave in front of a lady." Izumo turned to the girl. "Sorry about that. My brats are very undisciplined. My name is Izumo Kusanagi. Glad to see you finally awaken."

The girl seemed to relax and took the cover off her. She scanned her body and realized that she was covered in bandages. She looked at the bartender.

"Did you..."

"You were badly injured so we took care of your injuries. We owed you big time."

Suddenly, someone was heard coming downstairs. Anna entered the bar followed by Mikoto. She ran to the couch and looked at the girl with a neutral face.

"Are you alright?" Asked the young girl.

The girl's eyes widened and she got to her knees in front of Anna and grabbed her shoulders. "You! You're safe! Are you alright? Were you injured anywhere?"

Anna looked surprised for a moment and then answered. "No."

The girl sighed and smiled. She pulled Anna in a hug. "Thank god." She whispered

All the members of HOMRA were stunned. The first thing this girl had done was not notice Mikoto, not freaking out over having been taken in by a group of strange men but make sure the little girl she'd helped was safe, even though she clearly was in a worse state than Anna. When she released the young girl, the latter said.

"Thank you."

"Your welcome." She replied with an angelic smile.

"That's to say we are in your debt, miss." Said Kusanagi.

"Thank you for saving Anna. We owe you."

The Red King had spoken, which was odd. Mikoto never usually bothered with things like manners. He must've really felt grateful, even though he still had the same bored look on his face. The girl looked at him in the eyes and they didn't blink for a long time, until she finally spoke.

"You're...powerful, aren't you?" She asked.

"Of course he is!" Shouted Yata. "He's Mikoto Suho!"

The girl tried standing up but stumbled. Kusanagi caught her just in time.

"Oops! Easy there! Looks like you took a serious hit to the head but at least you don't have a concussion."

He helped her sit down again and brought her a cup of tea. She slowly drank it, as the gang watched her every move. When she finished, she looked at Mikoto and Kusanagi.

"Excuse me but... who are you?"

"What?! You don't know what HOMRA is?" Yata asked almost yelling at her so much that she perked up a little.

Yata immediately took a step back and a way less aggressive tone. "I-I mean...you're not from around here are you? Cause if you were, then... you'd totally know us."

"I don't know...if I'm from around here."

"What do you mean?" Asked Kamamoto.

"How about we let the lady get changed before we move on with the interrogation. You probably don't want to stay in those dirty old clothes of yours."

The girl saw that they did expose her a bit too much and blushed slightly.

"Follow me. I'll see if there's anything your size in the laundry."

A few minutes later, Kusanagi came back and the girl followed right after. She was barefoot wearing long kaki green hip-hop style pants, cut just above her ankles and just a black tank-top. Yata blushed madly before shouting.

"MR. KUSANAGI! YOU CAN'T LET A GIRL WALK AROUND LIKE THAT!"

"What do you mean Yata? She looks fine to me."

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT FINE, DAMN IT! COULDN'T YOU GIVE HER SOMETHING THAT COVERS A LITTLE MORE?"

Kusanagi suddenly looked pissed. He pushed Yata away with another punch on his skull.

"That's all we had that could fit her, Yata! If you think she's overexposed, then why don't you do something about it? Man up!"

The vanguard fell silent staring at the ground, as if he was ashamed. The girl went to sit back on the couch with Kamamoto's help and smiled at Yata.

"Thanks for worrying. But it's fine really."

Yata blushed even more, and clenched his fists before untying the red sweatshirt he always kept around his waist. He walked over to the couch and handed it over to her. Looking away he said.

"Here. Take this."

"But..."

"Just take it!"

The girl took the sweatshirt and put it on. It was a little big for her but still looked good. She smiled at Yata once more.

"Thanks. Your name is Yata right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"His full name is Misaki Yata." Said Chitose really fast.

"What the hell Chitose? You wanna die? Come here so I can beat you to a bloody pulp, you moron!"

"Knock it off, you guys. And watch your mouths. We still have a guest. How about we start with the presentations? As I said before, my name is Izumo Kusanagi. I'm the owner of the HOMRA bar and a red clansman. The man lazily smoking his cigaret on the end of the couch is Mikoto Suho. He's the Red King and leader of HOMRA. The little angel you saved this morning is Anna. Don't be fooled by her looks, she's a pretty powerful strain."

Anna and Mikoto said nothing but stared at the girl. One by one, all the clansmen presented themselves.

"Yo Chitose, Saburota Bando, Rikio Kamamoto, Masaomi Dewa, Shohei Akagi, Kosuke Fujishima, Eric Solt."

The girl repeated their names to remember them all. She observed them one by one, almost like she was reading them. Kusanagi finally broke the silence again.

"Well then, will you tell us your name young lady?"

She suddenly looked sad and stared at the ground. "I...don't remember my name."

"Have you been living in the streets so long you can't even remember that?"

"I don't even know if ever lived in the streets, Mr Kusanagi."

"You have amnesia."

She nodded. "I woke up a week ago in a hospital. The doctor that was taking care of me didn't seem to notice I didn't have any memory left."

Flashback

" _It's good to see you finally awake. You've been out for almost a week. Your brothers will be happy to see you awake."_

"I don't know why, but I had this odd feeling that I was in a trap and that I had to run away. I guess I acted on instincts then. So I told the doctor not to tell them I was awake because I wanted to surprise them. But the two men that came in didn't seem like they could be my brothers at all."

" _Honestly, how long are you going to be asleep, little cat? You're making me very frustrated."_

" _Stop fooling around. You know we can't touch her without the boss's permission. He'll murder us if we do."_

" _Oh please. Seeing what he's planning to do to her, a little fun wouldn't hurt anyone. Besides, he said he'd give us a reward when we bring her back. I know what I'm asking for. One whole night alone with my little cat sounds good."_

" _Don't be an idiot. She's his and he'll never let you touch her."_

" _I guess you're right. But I'm not giving up. See you soon, kitten."_

End of flashback

"The first thing I did after they left was run away from the hospital. I stole some old clothes and hid in the streets. I stole some food to survive too. But, I never slept twice in the same place. This feeling of needing to run away hasn't left me since I woke up."

"Did you see the faces of the men who are after you?"

"My eyes were closed so I didn't see them, but their voices were almost identical. I'm running away from someone and I don't even know who he is or even who I am. It's so frustrating."

A long moment of silence went by before she spoke again. "Thank you very much for what you've done for me, but... I should probably get going."

She got up, but Mikoto grabbed her arm and looked at her. "You can't keep running for ever, especially in your state. What you need is a wall."

"A wall?"

"He means protection. You sure about this Mikoto? If she hangs round with us, she might get exposed to different kinds of trouble." Said Kusanagi.

"Wait a minute! I can't ask you to protect me like that! What if those people are dangerous?"

"Don't worry." Said Chitose, putting his arm around her shoulders. "We're the red clan, sweetheart. Our middle name is danger. So stick close. We wouldn't want anything to happen to those nice legs of yours."

She suddenly moved. Grabbing his wrist, she sent her hand to collide with his side and then kicked him with her knee in the stomach. The young man fell to his knees holding his belly painfully.

"Touch me like that again, and you'll be the one with broken legs, pervert!" She shouted.

Everyone bursted out in laughter (except for Chitose).

"You sure know how to throw a few punches." Said Kusanagi. "Anyways, Mikoto's right. You can't run with no resources. How about you settle with us for a little while?"

"But I can't expose you to danger like that! You're out of your mind!"

"Like Chitose said very clumsily, we really are strong and trouble is no stranger to us. If you're with us, we can protect you from anything."

"That's for sure." Said Bando. "Even if someone has enough balls to confront us, they usually don't do it twice. Well, except for the black dog. He kicked your ass, didn't he Yata?"

"Shut up before I kill you."

She looked at the ground. "But still..."

"Consider it the payment for our debt to you for saving Anna. And at the same time, we'll try to help you find your memories."

The young girl stayed quiet thinking it over. She sighed. "All right. But I don't want to just sit my ass here all the time while you protect me. Give me a small job or something."

Mikoto let out a small approval noise and a tiny smile appeared on his lips.

"How about we start by giving you a name?" Suggested Kamamoto. "What do you want to be called?"

"Well...I don't really have anything in mind. Why don't you guys pick one for me?"

"I suggest Tenshi." Said Chitose. "Cause she has an angel's face."

"What about Kin?" Suggested Bando. "For her golden eyes."

"This is gonna take a while..." Said Kusanagi. "Got any suggestion, Yata?"

"Not really. It shouldn't be anyone but her that picks a name."

"Here's a thought. Since you have a girl's name, how about you pick a guy's name for me, to even things up?" The girl asked Yata with an honest smile.

"I-I can't give you a guy's name! It wouldn't suit you."

"Actually, it's a good idea." Commented the bartender. "That way, even if we talk about her outside, people won't think she's a girl. It might just help keep those hunters away."

"How about Taiga?" Suggested Mikoto. "It's a name for both girls and guys."

"I like it." Said the amnesic girl.

"Want a last name too? It might come in handy." Said Kamamoto. "How about Kinme?"

"Kinme? Literally meaning 'golden eyes'? Seriously, dude?" Said Eric.

"Call her whatever you want, I'm sticking with Tenshi" Said Yo stubbornly. "She's too cute for a guy's name."

"Open your mouth one more time Chitose, and I will knock your teeth out of it." Snapped Kusanagi. "Anyways, forget the last name. It's too obvious. How many people do you know that have golden eyes? It's better if you stick with one name."

"Taiga it is, then." Said Bando with a smile.

Taiga smiled at the boys. They looked like a violent gang that'd do anything to pick a fight. But they had good hearts. She could tell just by looking. If she was going to be protected by them, she didn't mind one bit.

* * *

 **Hope it got you curious! Pls review!**


	2. Chapter 2 : The crow and the Black Dog

**Hey guys! I'm already back! In this chapter our dearest Taiga gets a bit more familiar with HOMRA'S skateboarding captain and even meet a certain silver clansman. Enjoy**

* * *

When I woke up, it took me a while to realize where I was and why. I heard something breathing beside me and saw Anna sleeping next to me. She'd insisted that I should sleep in her room because of all the boys. I knew she was a strain, but I saw nothing more than an adorable child. I got up without waking her and got dressed. I still had Yata's sweatshirt. He'd been nice enough to let me have it. I smiled to myself thinking of how a scary gang member like him could blush so easily in the presence of a girl. I put on the sweatshirt and started heading downstairs, when half way down I heard Mr Kusanagi talking to someone.

"You know, Seri, I really don't mind you coming here from time to time. But this has become very frequent. Either you finally admitted your attraction for me or... you're trying to figure something out."

"Wasn't that obvious? You've been too quiet. Your clan is never so quiet. I want to know why you're laying low, it's really not your style."

I'd reach the room without them seeing me, wondering if I should manifest myself or not. But before I could even decide, a hand placed itself on my mouth and pulled me back behind the staircase.

Yata whispered in my ear. "Shhhhhhh."

"Sorry Seri. But I can't tell you anything because there is nothing to tell. Maybe our boys have had enough to cause trouble."

"Fine." Replied the woman. "Don't tell me. But we will figure it out. Stay on your toes. Thanks for the drink."

" _Mais de rien, mademoiselle._ "

We heard the woman get up and leave the bar. Yata sighed.

"I can't stand that bitch."

"Yata." I said, muffled. "Can't breath."

"Ha! Sorry!" He said letting me go and taking a step back.

We both went to sit at the bar. Only Mr Kusanagi was present washing his collection of glass. He smiled at me when I sat.

"Good morning, Taiga. How did you sleep?"

"Huh? Oh, right. That's me. Better than I have in days. Thank you again."

"No problem."

"Who was the woman that was here? A friend of yours, Mr Kusanagi?"

"Not really. That was lieutenant Seri Awashima of Scepter 4. She's the right hand of the fourth and Blue King, Reisi Munakata. Do you know how the Colored Kings system works?"

"The concept is familiar. But I don't know who are the Kings or what they can do exactly. It seemed like the lieutenant was snooping around."

"Our kings have a history and they keep clashing even now. Scepter 4 makes it their job to keep an eye on us and contain us if we become...too violent. Things usually work out fine though."

"You're the only one who says that Mr Kusanagi. We never finish beating them up cause you won't let us."

"Yata, there are more important things than your grudge with Saruhiko."

"That fuckin' monkey! I'll kill him for sure!"

"Oh that's right!" I started unzipping the sweatshirt. "I should give this back to you Yata."

"Wait wait wait wait wait!" Said the crow grabbing my hands to keep me from going any further and blushing madly at the same time. "Just keep it until you get new clothes."

"Speaking of which, why don't you do that this morning, Taiga?" Said Mr Kusanagi.

"Out in the open, at this time of day?"

"Today's Saturday. People will be all over the shopping mall. It's the best place to hide if you ask me. How about you go with her Yata, since you're not on patrol duty today?"

"WHAT?!"

"Calm down, I'm not asking you to help her pick clothes, jut escort her."

"I...guess that's fine."

* * *

 **Shizume shopping mall**

Yata waited for Taiga while leaning against a pillar in the mall, scanning the crowd for two men. Mr Kusanagi had told him that if their voices were so alike, they might even look alike. But no one here seemed to fit the description. Still, the crow stayed alert.

"Yata? I'm finished."

"Okay...whoa!"

I was wearing a new beige short, a white sweatshirt with sleeves that stopped halfway through my forearms over a black tank top and with a hoody. I also had black leggings under my shorts and a new pair of white snickers.

"You're making a face. Does it look weird?"

"Well, huh...don't ask me, I'm not an expert on girl's clothing!"

"Hey. You don't have to get all defensive. It's not like I asked you to check me out."

"Yeah, whatever. Let's just go."

'What was it with this guy? Okay he's not comfortable with girls, but he doesn't have to be a jerk about it. But then again, watching over an amnesic person has to be a pain for him. Oh well, I might as well change the subject.'

"Hey Yata? Do you mind if I ask you personal questions?"

"Why d'you wanna do that?"

"I'm gonna be with you guys for a while so I might as well learn about you."

He thought about it for a minute before answering. "Sure."

"How old are you?"

"19."

"So are you a college student?"

"No...I uh..." He looked down as if he were a bit embarrassed. "I'm a high school drop out."

"Oh. So you've been working for Mikoto for a while now."

"Yeah, almost two years." He suddenly had a proud smile on his face. "And let me tell you it was the best decision I ever made!"

"This morning Mr Kusanagi mentioned Saruhiko. Who's that?"

Yata's face suddenly became dark and full of anger. He took a deep breath as if to control the explosive rage inside of him before answering.

"He was part of HOMRA before. But then he betrayed us and went over to the blues. He's nothing but a traitor!"

"The blues? You mean scepter 4?"

"Yeah. Leaving HOMRA's one thing but crossing over to the number one enemy wasn't necessary! I swear I'll kill that bastard!"

'That sounds very personal too.' Yata looked like he was ready to explode so I thought it was better to change the subject.

"Hey, how about you help me catch up on what's been happening here. Tell me about the kings and everything."

"Better ask Mr Kusanagi about it. He'll tell you the details and all."

"By the way, thank you Yata."

His cheeks caught fire. "W-what the...? Where'd that come from?"

"Thank you for coming with me. And relax, I'm a girl but I'm not that fragile. It's not like you're gonna break me by just talking to me." I smiled at him.

He looked away and a moment of silence went by. "Sorry, if I seem rude or anything... I'm just not good with girls..."

"Well now you can use me to practice." I smiled.

"Hey that's one thing that's weird about you."

"What?"

"Well, anyone waking up with no memory should be a little bit freaked out and ask about themselves. But you ran away directly, because of a feeling."

"Yeah, you're right. It is weird."

"And also, you've got good fighting reflexes. So you're probably someone who learned how to fight. If we can tell what kind of style you have, it might help us."

"Okay. So how do we do that?"

"Punch me."

"Excuse me?"

"When we get back to the bar, try to punch me when I'm not expecting it. Then I'll be able to tell."

"Really? That's amazing!"

He once more blushed madly. "It's nothin'. Any long time fighter can do that."

"I'm not so sure." I muttered.

"You comin' or what?"

"Yeah. But... that's not the way back is it?"

"I'm taking you to a shop somewhere. You need to buy sunglasses to hide your eyes."

"I didn't think about that. It's a good idea."

"It was Mr Kusanagi's."

I followed Yata through a couple streets until we reached ones with a lot of little restaurants and tourists shops. He took me to one of them where I think the shopkeeper was a transvestite. While I was looking at the sunglasses, Yata went to the end of the shop to talk with the shopkeeper about something. I tried a couple on and settled for a simple cheap pair with glass dark enough to hide my eye color. Then, waiting for my assigned 'bodyguard', I looked at the other stuff this store sold. There wasn't much besides postcards and other stuff tourists bought. Also the part of town where we were didn't seem to be … the safest area around. Maybe there was more than met the eye.

"Hey, cutie. What's a girl like you doing on her own in a place like this?"

I looked up. Three guys in casual clothes had come inside the store and were staring at me. They didn't look like the kind of people that hung out in places like these. I placed back the postcard I was looking at.

"Just looking."

"It's not really safe for a girl to be alone here. How about you come with us and we'll show you a way out."

"That's nice of you but I'm waiting for someone."

"Oh, are you here with your boyfriend?"

I felt my face heat up a little. "He's not my boyfriend." I said looking away.

"Perfect. Then he won't mind if you hang out with other guys, right?" Said the brown haired one putting his arm around my shoulders, before I could take a step back. "We're off duty, so how about you come hang out with us a bit? I promise we'll play nice."

"Let go off me, please." I said as I tried to push him away.

He brought his face closer to mine. "Are you the type who doesn't like having men too close? That's so cute. You've got pretty eyes."

"Remove your hands at once, blue clansman." Said a new voice.

Standing in the door way, was a tall boy dressed in a long black coat. He had shiny black hair held in a high ponytail. His gaze was piercing. In short, he was beautiful. The odd thing was that he was carrying a katana with him.

"Well, what do you know? The Black Dog's decided to come sniff around here too. Running an errand for your master like a good boy?"

"I am not here on behalf of my King if that is what you mean. I will not repeat myself a third time. Take your hands off the young lady or you I will give you a taste of my blade."

The guy made a face and took his arm back. "You're lucky I don't have my sword, Black Dog."

"Hmpf." Was all the guy got for a response. The three men stepped out and walked away. I sighed out of relief.

"Thank you."

The young men smiled at me. "You're welcome. However they had a point. You should not be alone in a place like this."

"But I'm not alone. My friend is talking with the shopkeeper."

"I see. Forgive my rudeness. I have not yet introduced myself. My name is Kuro Yatogami, vassal of the first and Silver King, Adolf K. Weissman."

'So he's a silver clansman. He doesn't give off the same vibe as Yata and the others in HOMRA.' I thought. "I'm Taiga."

"Is that the only name you bear?"

"Yes." The black haired boy was looking at me with very focused eyes. It was kind of uncomfortable. "Earlier you called that guy, blue clansman."

"This man is a member of scepter 4. A vassal of the fourth and blue King, Reisi Munakata."

"So there's a red King, a blue King and a Silver King?"

"There are seven Kings in total." Replied Kuro. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"Uh, no. I'm from out of town." I lied.

"Hold on, don't move." Kuro took a step closer and extended his hand towards my head.

"W-what are you doing?"

"HANDS OFF!" Shouted a familiar voice.

Something that looked like a ball of fire crashed right in front of me. Kuro had jumped back and avoided it. The ball of fire turned out to be Yata. But he looked like he was on fire, literally speaking. Red flames were surrounding his body and I could feel the heat. 'Is that... the power of the red clan?' Yata looked really pissed.

"Bastard, what were you doing to her?"

"I was merely trying to remove the bug that was in her hair, red clansman."

"Are you with the sons of bitches who're after her? Tch. I don't know why that should surprise me."

"You're tongue is still way faster than your brain. What are you blabbering about?"

"HUH? WHAT D'YOU SAY, BASTARD?!" He shouted and the fire around him seemed to intensify.

I took a step forward to touch his shoulder. "Yata wait! He really helped... AAH!"

I quickly pulled my hand away after feeling an intense burn. The pain was so bad, I fell on my knees and held my burned hand with the other and held it close to me, clenching my teeth to avoid screaming again. The two boys watched me with stunned faces.

"You careless slouch!" Said Kuro to Yata.

"It ain't my fault! You're the one that pissed me off, you damn dog!"

"What's going on in here? What's this racket all about?" The shopkeeper came out of the hidden part of the shop and gasped when he/she saw me. She knelt down beside me. "Oh dear. Are you alright, honey?"

She took my hand and looked at my burn. "How can you boys get rough with a sweet girl like that? Out now, both of you."

She took me to the end of the shop and applied some burn ointment and bandaged my head. As an apology for what happened, she offered me the pair of sunglasses for free. She walked me out of the store where both Yata and Kuro were waiting for me. A soon as we came out, Kuro approached me.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, don't worry. It's just a little burn. Nothing to worry about."

"I'm concerned. What is someone like you doing with the likes of him?" He said throwing a dark look at the red clansman. Before I could respond, Yata placed himself between me and him and they started off a staring contest.

"That's none of your fuckin' business. And don't go thinking we're keeping her hostage or some bullshit like that." He grabbed my arm and pulled me with him while walking away. "And one more thing. If you talk about her to anyone, I'll come finish you off myself. Clear, Black Dog?"

Kuro frowned. "Crystal."

Before we turned to a corner, I turned around and shouted. "Thanks for your help, Kuro!"

For the next ten minutes, Yata walked fast and I had to jog a bit to keep up. He really looked pissed and didn't seem like he would cool down any time soon. It was like he was trying to contain a burning anger and that if he didn't let off soon, he would explode.

"You know, Yata. He really did help..."

"Why d'you lie?" He said suddenly stopping but not turning around.

"Huh?"

"Why d'you lie and say it didn't hurt much? Mr. Mikoto's fire is the most painful burn you could ever get. I know because we all feel that burn when we become members of HOMRA and receive the red aura."

"Well, I … ."

"Damn it!" He turned around. "If it hurts, just say so! Don't hide it! How are we suppose to do anything, if you don't tell us what's wrong? Speak up!"

I took a step back, not because I was afraid but I was surprised that he was so … worried. I smiled. For the first time since I'd left the hospital, I felt protected. I smiled and Yata's face turned crimson.

"Uh, anyways. Let's go. If I bring you back too late, Mr Kusanagi'll give me hell."

"Coming." I said running after him.

* * *

 **HOMRA bar**

On the way back I asked Yata about the other guys in the gang. Once back at the bar, I had a general idea about all of them, their age, their personal history... Yata pushed the door open and announced our arrival. Some of the guys were already here. That's when I saw a good opportunity. I raised my fist and tried to punch him on the back of the head. But instead of the that, he caught my wrist half an inch away from his face. All the boys silently looked at us.

"Wow, Yata. What did you do to her to make her punch you?" Said Rikio.

"And you hit me for hitting on her?" Said Yo.

"Sorry." I said with an embarrassed smile.

The boy didn't respond right away and observed my hand for a minute before finally saying. "You're not a trained fighter."

"You can tell?"

"People who have never fought always make that mistake. You have to put your thumb away. If you don't, chances are you'll break it if you hit something hard."

"Oh." I said.

"But hold on. She's got some moves. She managed to bring Yo to his knees."

"That's just cause I won't hit a girl." Growled the designated boy.

"She still managed to hurt you."

Mr Kusanagi seemed to think for a second. "Maybe it's not fighting that you learned, but self-defense. That'd make more sense."

"If it is, then I'm not very good at it. I froze up today when those that guy tried to pick me up."

All the eyes turned to Yata. A dark aura filled the room.

"Yata, what did you do?" Said Masaomi.

"What?" Replied the vanguard. "Hey it wasn't me! When did that happened?" He asked me.

"That's why Kuro helped me. In the shop, while you were talking to the shopkeeper. Those three guys came in and one of them got a bit too personal."

"You left her alone?" Continued Masaomi. "How lame. Some bodyguard you are."

"That's so low." Added Yo. "No wonder girls freak you out. You got no clue how to handle them."

"That's it! Chitose, you're dead!" Yata threw himself on his womanizing fellow clansman, holding him around the neck. "Say, that again, I dare you!"

"Wait, don't ..." I was about to intervene but Mr Kusanagi grabbed me gently by the shoulder.

"It's no use, Taiga. These airheads don't know how to use words." He turned to them, suddenly looking very dark. "I don't mind if you fight, but if there's a single scratch anywhere on my bar, I will make you both eat your shoes."

Yata and Yo froze in position and for the first time, looked creeped out. 'Mr Kusanagi is probably a lot more scary than he looks. Maybe I should try and loosen up the atmosphere.'

"How about I make lunch for all of you?"

They all turned to me. "Hell yes! Finally a decent meal!" Said Rikio.

"And cooked by a beautiful girl. I can die in peace." Said Yo still not free from Yata's grasp.

"How about right now, without the food, you damn pervert?" The crow tightening his grip.

Masaomi then looked skeptical. "Hold on. Are you sure you remember how to cook?"

"I think I can make something decent." I said. In truth I had no clue, but I was confident. After all, if I remember ingredients, I should be able to make something out of it.

"I'll give you a hand." Said Mr Kusanagi, following me to the kitchen.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it! Please review! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3 : Tattooed

**Hey guys! Here's chapter three! Our friends of the red clan finally come across some clues about their guest. Hope you enjoy this one! Please don't forget to review!**

* * *

 **HOMRA bar**

For the next few days, I helped Mr Kusanagi at the bar, mostly cleaning the glasses and the bar when the costumers were gone, as well as cleaning the floor and washing the boy's clothes. And every day, I'd go out with the clansmen and they'd show me around town, asking if I could remember anything. Then they'd go on their own, they'd discreetly asking their acquaintances if they knew anything about a girl with golden eyes. But nothing new came up. I was sitting on the floor behind the bar, cleaning Mr Kusanagi's glass collection, only half focused on what I was doing. All the guys were gone including the bartender.

'Looks like no one really knows about me. Maybe I don't even come from this place. Nothing feels familiar here. But it is a big city. I should be able to remember at least a few things.' I sighed once more. 'And who's to say how long the red clan will be willing to keep me?'

"Hey." Called out a familiar lazy voice.

I stood up and looked towards the couch. The red King was lazily laying on it, his eyes closed and a cigaret in his mouth. He opened his eyes and looked at me briefly. And then with a sign of the head, told me to come closer. I put the glass down, got closer and sat on a chair close to the couch.

"What's bothering you?" He asked with a bored but warm voice.

"I don't know. I don't like the idea of you guys shielding me from an invisible threat."

"Did you remember anything?"

"No, not even close. Nothing looks familiar. I don't even know how old I am. Do you know how frustrating it feels not to know anything about yourself?" I asked looking at the ground.

"Would you like me to look?" Asked Anna who was sitting next to Mikoto.

"Look at what?"

Anna got off her chair and took a small red marble out of her pocket. She looked at my surprised face through it. At first I thought she was just playing a game but then I remembered that Mr Kusanagi had said that she was a powerful strain. Apparently, they were creatures, human or animal, that had powers independently of a King. Anna looked at me for a long minute before putting her marble away and gave me a sad face.

"I'm sorry. I can't see anything. There's a fog in your mind."

Was that her power? She could read my mind. I smiled and gave her a pat on the head.

"Thanks for trying."

A tiny smile appeared on Mikoto's face. "You're worried about how long we're going to allow you to stay?"

"I doubt you'll want to take care of an amnesiac forever."

"Why not? You're not a bother to me. And my guys are pretty excited to have a girl around. Aside for Yata maybe." I involuntarily let out a laugh. "Besides you're cooking isn't half bad."

"Thank you, Mr Mikoto."

"Like I said, we owe you. So stop worrying."

That was the longest conversation I had with the red King since I got her. I smiled to myself. I must really be the luckiest run away in the world. I stood and went upstairs to take a shower.

* * *

 **Unknown location**

"It's been almost two week she's gone missing. You think he'll be mad at us? Oi! Aki! I'm talking to you."

"Obviously." Snapped back the older twin.

"Still, she's a clever little cat. Escaping through our fingers like that... I guess that's why I like her so much."

"Be quiet. He's coming."

The man walked into the room and went to sit at his desk. He had his usual smirk on his face and he looked at the twins.

"Tell me you two. Is there a good reason why you're back here without my precious ward with you?"

"I'm sorry sir, but she seems to have vanished since she escaped the hospital."

"You didn't think my angel was stupid enough to hide in obvious places, did you Akihiko? She has no resources to escape or survive on her own. You know what kind of blood flows in her veins. She'll be drawn to him wether she's aware of it or not. Go back there and look for her near Shizume. And should you leave a scratch on her, I will personally rip you to pieces."

"Yes, sir." Replied the older twin. "Come on, Kei."

"Right behind you, bro. Although boss, you don't seem too worried about the whole thing."

"I don't have to be. I've already carved myself in her mind. She can't escape no matter where she runs. That's her fate as a descendant."

* * *

 **HOMURA bar : External POV**

Yata kicked open the door of the bar and barged in. He looked even more angrier than he usually did. Rikio, Masaomi and Yo followed him in. They all sat at the bar with depressed looks on their faces.

"Man, I'm starting to think Taiga really is from out of town. No one has ever seen or heard of a girl with golden eyes. It's kind of weird don't you think?" Asked Rikio.

"Yeah. Even the shopkeeper didn't know squat." Added Yata.

"You don't think she lied, did you?" Asked Yo.

"She didn't." said Anna. "Her mind is empty."

"Don't ask stupid questions." Said Mikoto, without even opening his eyes.

The door opened again and Izumo walked in, his hands full. "You boys look pretty down. What's the matter?" He asked putting everything down on the bar.

"We've been asking everyone in Shizume for five days now and we didn't come up with anything." Explained Masaomi. "It's depressing."

The bartender chuckled. "That's because you boys look in your usual sources and they aren't much help in a case like this."

"Hold on. Are you saying you got something Mr Kusanagi?" Asked Yata.

"That I do. I found the hospital from which Taiga escaped and the doctor that was in charge of her. They keep records of nameless patients. The doctor remembers her well. Apparently she was brought in by a two men that looked like twins that claimed to be her brothers. He also remembered that she was wearing a high school uniform with a white scarf around the arm that said third year."

"So she's between seventeen and nineteen. Did you figure out at what school she goes to?"

"No, the doctor said the uniform was too classic to remember. They threw it away because it was all torn and burned apparently. I also asked about the wounds. He said that it looked like someone had beaten her up pretty bad. She was unconscious for four days."

"In other words, aside from her age we still don't know anything. Tch." Growled Yata.

The young man suddenly stood up and started going up the staircase.

"Where are you going, Yata?" Asked Rikio.

"I gotta use the bathroom."

"But..." Started Anna.

Before she could stop him, HOMRA's vanguard dashed up the staircase and headed towards the bathroom at the end of the hallway. The crow pushed the door open and froze on the spot. In front of him, her back turned to him, was an almost naked Taiga that was just finishing wrapping a towel around herself. The girl gasped and turned her head when she heard the door opening. Yata's mouth dropped open and his face turned tomato red. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Taiga's cheek turned crimson as well.

"Get out!" She shouted, shutting her eyes and completely embarrassed.

The red clansman quickly closed the door and with his face still red, headed back downstairs walking slowly like a zombie. A few more members of HOMRA had joined the others.

"You okay Yata? You look like you've seen a naked girl or something." Said Yo, joking.

The vanguard didn't reply and went to sit on the floor against the wall looking down. The others, surprised that he hadn't beaten Chitose half to death looked at each other.

"Hold on, I was kidding." Said Yo. "You didn't really..."

"She was in her shower." Commented the red King.

"How crude, Misaki." Said Anna keeping her eyes on her book.

Yata flinched when he hear the little strain girl's comment, but still didn't reply. In reality, he really felt like a shameless pervert right now.

"Wow. Imagine that, guys." Said Yo. "Yata seeing a girl naked, I thought the day would never come."

"Ain't that right?" Continued Masaomi.

This time the crow reacted. He turned around and showed his fist to the other clansmen. "Shut up, you fucking morons! She was wearing a towel! I didn't see anything!"

Yo rolled "Pff. Laaaame! Honestly Yata, I'm starting to wonder if you'll ever get a girlfriend."

"Hmm, hmm." Coughed Mr Kusanagi, signaling the boys that their guest was coming down the stairs. The girl's cheeks were fire red and she entered the room quietly and went to sit at the bar, while Yata turned back, facing the wall. He wanted to sink into the ground and disappear. What he didn't know was that she felt exactly the same. After a long minute of awkward silence, Mr Kusanagi finally spoke.

"Taiga, I found the hospital where you've been. Apparently you're a third year high schooler. That's what it said on the uniform you were wearing when they found you. Also, you were right. The two men who brought you there were twins."

"But wouldn't two twin brothers asking for a golden eyed girl be more noticeable?" Asked Rikio.

"They probably weren't looking around here. The hospital was pretty far from Shizume. You made quite a run when you escaped, Taiga."

"I couldn't help it. That feeling was so strong I had to keep moving. Thank you for the information Mr Kusanagi."

"I'm sorry I couldn't get anything else." Replied the bartender.

"There's something else." Suddenly said Yata.

Everyone turned around. The red clansman was still sitting on the ground and facing the wall. It was easy to guess that his face was still tomato red and that he didn't want to turn around yet.

"What do you mean?" Asked Eric.

"You've got a tattoo." Said Yata quickly.

"A tattoo?" Asked the girl. "How do you know that?"

"I saw it. On your back." He spat out with difficulty, probably not wanting to remind her that he almost saw her naked. Anna stood up and ran over to where Taiga was. The young strain climbed on the seat next to hers and pulled the amnesiac's shirt down a bit. A few inches under her shoulders and right in the middle of her back, was indeed a tattoo.

"Well, Anna?" Asked Izumo.

"Three roses." Answered the little girl.

"Now that's interesting. Do you mind?" He asked getting closer. The girl hesitated before showing it to the bartender. "I've seen this kind of tattoo before, but I can't remember where..."

Rikio suddenly stood. "I got it. We can take a picture of the tattoo and ask the artists around if they've seen this design."

"That's not a bad idea. This design is very detailed and well made. Not a lot of artists make them so well. If someone's seen it around here, we'll know." He turned to the amnesiac girl and smiled. "Looks like we got a lead after all."

"It's definitely worth a shot!" Said Shohei.

"I'm up for asking around." Continued Kosuke. "And I know most of the tattoo artists around."

"I can check out the websites. Sometimes they display the kind of tattoos they make."

Taiga smiled, her cheeks taking a pink color that showed her bliss. "Thank you so much. Everyone."

The bartender then turned to everyone else. "A quick warning you guys. Scepter 4 is starting to get nervous of our inactivity. If they see you asking around and all of that, it'll bring attention to us."

"So what?" Growled Yata, who'd finally regained his self-control. "It's not the first time they're sniffing around trying to keep an eye on us. Let'em come."

"No the problem Yata. Bringing attention to us is also bringing attention to Taiga. And that'll make it a lot easier for these guys to find her."

Rikio scratched his head. "So basically, you're telling us to start up a little trouble, so the blues stop getting suspicious and stop thinking we're up to something?"

Izumo smirked. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

Almost all the boys grinned back which made Taiga a bit uncomfortable. But she didn't want to argue with the idea. The best way to have someone leave you alone is making them think that everything is normal.

* * *

 **Taiga's POV**

The next day, I was out walking in the streets with Yo, heading back to the bar after a whole morning of going around tattoo shops and of course came back with nothing. None of them were skilled enough to make it and didn't know anyone who could. We'd been walking around not so safe areas but I didn't really care at the moment. I was getting really depressed at not finding out anything about myself. Of course there was the possibility that I wasn't from here and so that it was normal that nothing looked familiar. But it still scared me.

"You alright Taiga?" Asked Yo. "You don't look so good."

"I was thinking maybe I should see a doctor."

"Are you sick?" He gave me a cocky smile. "I'd be happy to take a look."

"Keep your distances, playboy. I just want to make sure that I'm able to recover my memory."

"Mr Kusanagi probably knows someone. We'll ask him." He stared at me while we walked through an empty alley.

"What?" I asked

"You're pretty amazing for a girl. Hanging out with guys like us I mean."

"There's nothing wrong with you guys. You're violent but not mean. You don't scare me."

He suddenly stopped. "Are you so sure?"

"Huh?"

Yo suddenly walked towards me and I backed off until my back hit the wall. He placed his hand on both sides of my head. I gave him a confused, slightly scared stare and looked at him in the eyes without blinking.

"You really shouldn't be so off guard, Taiga. You're too cute to be around guys like us and not watch out."

"Yo, that's not funny. Get off." I said without moving.

"Who says I'm kidding?" He grabbed my chin. "I like pretty girls and I happen to have a soft spot for the hard to get. Why aren't you answering? If you keep staring like that, I might kiss you." He leaned in until his face was only an inch away from mine. "What happened to those self-defense reflexes?"

I let out a sigh of relief and a small laughter. "You won't do it Yo. You're a playboy and a pervert but you'd never hurt a girl. And you've made your point. I accept."

He backed off and gave me a surprised look. "Accept what?"

"That you teach me how to fight."

He chuckled. "You're smart. But I got you there for a second. Admit it."

"Nope. Never." I answered.

We resumed walking towards the end of the alley. Yo was talking on the phone with Mr Kusanagi. Suddenly, an image presented itself to me. A truck hitting a pedestrian that was talking on the phone. The image lasted one second max. That's when I saw Yo about to cross the street. I ran as quickly as I could, grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled on it as hard as I could …. just a second before a truck passed by at full speed. I'd pulled him so hard, both of us had fallen on the ground.

"Wow! Holy shit!" He stated a bit in shock. "I could have died."

"It was gonna hit you. I know it. I saw it."

"Looks like I owe you one. Personal this time."

He stood up and gave me a hand, before picking up his phone. "Shit. The screen is broken. Oh well, better this thing than me. You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Come on, we're gonna pick up Yata."

"At his house?"

"Yeah. Although you might want to prepare to see him in his underwear. He's probably not awake."

"He sleeps that late?"

"He probably went to sleep late last night. I think seeing you in the shower gave him nightmares and he couldn't get a wink." Said Yo giving me a light hit with the elbow.

I blushed. "Stop reminding me of that!"

"We're here."

The house was small but looked very welcoming. I was about to go knock on the door but Yo grabbed my arm.

"Check this." He grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it against a window of the second floor. "Wait for it... 3...2...1."

The window swung open and a bare shirt Yata with messed up morning hair indicating he'd just got up. I couldn't help but notice the six pack on his stomach. "Chitose! Wait until I get my hands on you, you bastard … WHY IS SHE HERE?"

'Rude much?' I thought.

"Mr Kusanagi asked me to come wake you up. She just happened to be with me. That and it makes it even for yesterday. Move your butt."

"Damn you..." He shut the window violently.

We waited a couple minutes when the door open, but instead of Yata a young boy and a little girl came out chasing each other and laughing. They froze when they saw us.

"Hi, there." I said smiling.

"They're Yata's siblings. The boy's Minoru and the girl is Megumi."

The two children smiled back. "Good morning!" They said politely in unison. Then Yata came out, holding his skateboard in one hand and putting his white headphones around his neck with the other. He looked frustrated.

"Minoru, Megumi. Go back inside. Chitose! I already said I didn't want to get picked up. You could have called."

"Sorry man. Mr Kusanagi's orders. That and I broke my phone. Let's go."

"Fine." He turned to the kids once more. "You guys, go inside and help mom."

"Okay, big bro!" Said the boy running back in and chased by his little sister.

The three of us started walking towards the bar. Yata was obviously avoiding eye contact with me, probably still embarrassed over what had happened yesterday. Yo decided to start the conversation.

"Hey Yata. I thought it'd be a good idea for Taiga to learn a little street fighting just in case."

"Yeah, might be a good idea. Why're you telling me?" Growled back the crow.

"You're still the best fighter. You should take care of it."

"No." Yata replied flatly.

"Why not?" I asked.

"I said no!" He quickly replied without even looking at me.

I rolled my eyes and looked in front of me. There was a iron fence going along the sidewalk. That's when I finally sensed something familiar. A sensation. My body wanted to do something. I climbed on the fence and started walking on it. To my big surprise, I didn't have any trouble maintaining balance. I wasn't even holding my arms out. It felt so natural.

"Wow." Commented Yo. "How do you do that?"

"No clue. But it's … surprisingly easy."

"Trust me that's not easy. You're like a cat. Hey, show me your hands for a sec."

I jumped off and opened my hands. Yo grabbed them and did something weird. He closed his eyes and rubbed his thumbs on my palms. Before I could say anything, Yata crashed his fist on top of his skull.

"What d'you think you're doing, you pervert? Don't touch her like that! You're creepin' her out!" Shouted the angry boy.

Yo held his head and rubbed it. "Damn it, Yata! That freakin' hurts!"

"Then don't do stuff like that! It's disgusting!"

"I was just checking something!"

"Tch. Yeah, right."

"Honest! Her hands feel rough. Most girls usually have soft skin on their palms, but Taiga doesn't."

"Meaning?" I asked.

"Skin like that is usually found on woman who play tennis or gymnasts. Seeing the balance you have, plus your quick reflexes, I'd say there's a good chance you're the latter. Try to do a handstand for me."

I hesitated since we were I the middle of a street but then thought that I had nothing to loose. I did what he asked and stood on my hands very easily as well. I even tried walking and managed to without any difficulty. I stood back up.

"Looks like we're finding out stuff about you." Said Yo smiling.

Even Yata looked impressed. "With that kind of balance and reflexes, learning how to defend yourself might be easier than what you think." He stated.

His phone beeped and he took a look at it. "Crap! Where gonna be late! Let's move!"

* * *

 **Hope you guys liked it! Next chapter = meeting a certain blue with brown hair, glasses and an** **awful personality. ;) PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4 : Monkey and Manners

**Hey guys! Hope you missed me! We finally get to see Taiga meet that blue clansman we love so much! How is it gonna go I wonder? ;) Right now, less talking, more reading! Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

"Ready when you are, Taiga." Said Kosuke.

We were in an abandoned parking lot, a block away from the bar. I took a deep breath before getting to the fighting stance the guys had taught me. Kosuke gave me a grin, before running towards me and raising his fists and try to hit me with a series of punches. I backed up strategically, dodging all of them. I knew he wasn't using half of his strength, but even then I had trouble. After Yo had discovered my … skills, they'd made me try a bunch of things and it turned out that I was capable of doing more than a handstand. I was pretty flexible and handsprings and flips weren't difficult for me. I might very well have been a gymnast. Then the boys had started taking turns to train me and teach me to hold my own in a fight. Street fight that was. Kosuke then threw a punch that I couldn't dodge fast enough. I brought both of my arms up and crossed them together to protect my face. The young man smiled and took a step back.

"You're good, Taiga. After only three days of training you can already dodge most of my punches." He said.

"Not really. You're holding back."

"I know, but in a regular fight with normal people, you should be able to stand your ground for a while. It's almost as if you can tell where the blow will come from."

"It's hard to explain but, I guess pretty well."

"You clairvoyant or what?" He laughed. "Good work anyways. Want a drink? Eric brought some juice for us."

"Yeah, that'd be great." I said following him. Masaomi, Eric and Yo had come to watch the training. I didn't know why but they seemed to enjoy it. Every time that I trained, some of them came to watch me. I was happy about that. Eric tossed me a can of Sprite. As I was about to open it, I spotted someone watching us from the other side of the parking lot behind the iron fence. Yata was leaning against it and watching us. He looked troubled. A mixture of anger and anxiety. His eyes were those of a wolf. I was about to call out to him to ask if he wanted to join us, but he suddenly turned away and rode away on his skateboard.

"Yata! Wait!" I called out.

"What's with him lately?" Asked Masaomi. "He's been on edge for a while now. Did something happen between you and him, Taiga?"

"Aside from the tattoo incident, no." I replied. "Do you think it has something to do with me?"

"Well, he always keeps his distances but he's watching you all the time."

"Maybe, he's stressed out about having you as his responsibility." Said Yo.

"What do you mean?"

"Out of all of us, Yata's the youngest but he's the one with the most spirit and loyalty to the gang. When the King gives him a responsibility, he's working really hard to make his job perfect. Most of the time he's overjoyed but right now, he's completely on edge."

I looked down, thinking. "Do you think it's because I'm a girl?"

"Maybe. He's usually not a complicated guy." Added Masaomi before taking a sip of his drink.

"Or maybe he's in love." Said Yo.

He winked at me and my face turned crimson. "W-what? That's not possible we just met! And news flash, I have no idea who I am."

He gave me a smirk. "I never said with you specifically. Are you hiding something from us, Taiga?"

"You asshole!" I shouted.

I took my can and shook it really hard before pointing in Yo's direction and opened it. The soda splashed all over him. The three others stared in awe for a couple seconds before bursting out in laughter. Yo stood there dumbfounded before turning to me and raising his can.

"You're gonna pay for that." He said smiling evilly.

I threw my can in the trash before dashing towards the other side of the parking lot with Yo behind me. He was a fast runner but before he could catch me, I quickly escalated the iron fence which was pretty high and jumped over the edge onto the other side. I turned around and stuck my tongue at him and giving him a cheeky smile.

"First one at the bar wins!" I said before running in the other direction again.

I arrived at the bar completely out of breath. Of course the guys weren't here yet. In the bar, Mr Kusanagi was cleaning the counter.

"I'm sorry...Mr. Kusanagi..." I said in between huffs. "I didn't realize... it was so late..."

The blond man smiled at me. "No worries Taiga. I told you that you're not obligated to help me."

"But I want to. You guys feed me and give me a place to stay. I have to do something in return. What can I do to help?"

"Don't worry. I'm already finished. Why are you alone?"

"Oh, I was running away from Yo."

The bartender raised an eyebrow. "It's not what you think!" I quickly said. "He made fun of me so I spilled my soda on him and he was trying to get back at me."

"That's not the problem Taiga. You can't be alone at any time. Not util we've figured out who the guys that are after you are. Do you understand?"

I was surprised. "Yes. I'm sorry."

The door opened in a loud bang and Yo, Kosuke, Masaomi and Eric barged in.

"Ah, damn it! We lost." Cursed Yo.

"She had a head start." Said Kosuke. "And we had to go all the way around the parking. That's at least twice the distance she made."

"Why didn't you jump over the fence?" I asked.

"Too lazy." Replied Eric.

"Liar." I said. "You just couldn't."

"Knock it off." Said the bartender. "Sit down all of you. We have to talk."

Everyone took a seat and remained silent waiting for Mr Kusanagi to speak. Rikio, Saburota, Shohei, Yata, Anna and Mikoto joined us soon after. Ever since I'd stepped into the bar, Anna hadn't stopped staring at a big map of the city. Three red marbles were spinning in a circle on it.

"Okay first off, anything new boys?" Asked Mr Kusanagi.

Kosuke was the first one to reply. "We went around every tattoo artists in town and none of them seem to be good enough to make that kind of tattoo and they don't know anyone who could. It's a dead end."

"I, for one, know I've seen it somewhere. I'll keep looking." Said the Red Clan's strategist. "In the meantime, we'll have to try something else. We heard a rumor in town that speaks about someone who can supposedly control minds."

"A strain?" Asked Rikio.

"Probably. The person who talked about it is a green clansman that's here in town for a while. That's who Anna is trying to locate. Once she does, Yata you're gonna go see him. If he does know where that person is, give me a call. You can also ask him about the tattoo."

"Okay, whatever." Growled the young captain.

'He's in a grumpier mood than I thought.'

"Why do you need us for then?" Asked Rikio.

"I found him." Said Anna. "He's at the Paradise Hotel."

"Oi, oi, oi." Said Yata. "It's not that guy, is it?"

"There's a high probability that it is Yukari Mishakuji." Said Mr. Kusanagi.

"That bastard gives me the creeps."

"Are you saying you're not up to the task?" Asked the red King, lazily.

Yata suddenly stood up. "Of course not, Mr. Mikoto! I'll do it without fail."

"Good, then get moving. And take Taiga." The Red King stood up as well. "The rest of you are gonna be busy. The hotel is close to Scepter 4's turf. So we need a distraction for the blues. You up for a little fight?"

"Hold on!" I said getting up as well. "You're not gonna take the risk of Scepter 4 arresting you?"

"You just worry about finding your memory." Said the red King while giving me a warm smile.

"Debating with you guys is useless." I sighed.

* * *

 **PARADISE HOTEL**

Yata and I went to the hotel as planned and entered the lounge. Yata asked for where we could find Yukari and after getting the info, turned to me.

"You should wait for me. This hotel has a bar over there. I'll try to be quick but it might take a while."

"Why? Don't you want me to come?"

"It's not that." He rubbed the back of his head. "This guy's a weirdo. He has a fetish for 'beautiful things'. If he sees your eyes, it's gonna take forever. Not to freak you out or anything, he might even try to take them."

"What if I keep my sunglasses?"

"Just seeing you is gonna get him interested. Trust me on this."

"Okay."

A bit disappointed, I made my way to the bar and went to sit at the serving table. Why was Yata so … distant? He was different from before. Why would he act like that? I hadn't talked to him face to face since the shower incident. Had I done something to upset him? Then again, he's the kind of guy that gets pissed for anything. But I didn't like the way he was right now. I was positive something was wrong with him. I ordered a Coke to pass the time. I looked around. The place looked like a hostess club for rich people. Young woman in … revealing dresses, were accompanying men who looked at least twenty years older than them. 'It's paradise, alright. For old perverts.' I took off my sunglasses and took a sip.

"Tell me, aren't you a bit young to be in a place like this?" Said a masculine voice behind me.

I turned around. A skinny man with brown hair who looked at least thirty five, sat next to me. His shirt was open all the way down to the chest and he had a brown jacket over it. He had a glass of Scotch in his hand. And he was looking at me with a dumb smile and dreamy eyes. The stench of alcohol came out of his mouth as he was talking. He was obviously drunk.

"I don't work here."

"Well, no matter. I like'em young anyways. What do you say? Wanna have a drink with me?"

"No. Go away." The guys say it's better to be blunt quickly with guys like that. "My boyfriend's on his way." I lied.

"Is he?" Said the man, leaning forward towards me. "How about you tell me which one of us is the best kisser?"

"How lame. Is that the best pick up line old perverts like you have?" Said a unknown, bored voice behind us. Standing was a young man that looked to be about 20 or so. He was wearing casual dark clothes (black pants and dark grey sweatshirt) and glasses. His hair was brown and messy. A bang was falling on the side of his face. He looked pissed for some reason.

"Huh? Who are you suppose to be you little punk?" Said the drunk man standing. "Mind your own business."

The young man sighed. "What a pain." He suddenly threw a death glare at the man. "Let me say it in a language you can understand, scumbag. You're an eyesore. Scram."

"What d'you say, bastard!?"

The man grabbed a bottle from the counter and swung it at the boy. But the young man dark clothes simply rose his fist and broke it. The drunk man backed up against the counter.

"Leave before you end up like this bottle."

The man looked panicked for a moment and backed away towards the exit while the guy with glasses kept his eyes on him, before finally looking away. That's when the man smiled evilly. Once again I knew something I wasn't suppose to know. My eyes widened and I shouted.

"He's got a gun!"

The man drew his gun, but before he could even place his finger on the trigger, a dagger flew through the air and stabbed him in the shoulder. The man fell on the ground screaming. Everyone in the room was now looking at him. A couple of security guards came in.

"What happened here?" One of them asked the guy with glasses.

"This guy pulled a gun on me. I was just defending myself. Since when do you let people here have guns?" He said in a bored but reproachful voice. "Take him out of here."

Another guard grabbed my arm and pulled me off my chair. "You were with him weren't you? You're gonna have to come with us."

"But, wait..." Before I could finish, another hand grabbed my free hand and pulled me out of the guard's grasp.

"The old geezer was harassing her. She's not with him." Stated the guy with glasses, without even trying to put effort into his words.

The security guards discussed for a minute, before taking the drunk man out. I sighed. "Thank you."

The guy with glasses sat at the counter without even looking at me and just replied. "I didn't do this for you. I wanted to sit here, that guy was bothering me and I got rid of him. That's all."

I raised an eyebrow. "Rude much? You're not a people's person, are you?" I said.

"No." He ordered a mint soda.

"Have I seen you somewhere before? You feel familiar."

The guy looked at me for a long time before saying. "You're weird."

"Excuse me?"

"Who says 'you feel familiar'? Only people who are illiterate or foreigners. Anyways, I would've recognize someone with freaky eyes like that."

"Hey! Rude." I said. "You're an ass, you know that?"

He ignored my last comment. "Speaking of which, you should wear those." He said pointing at my sunglasses on the counter. "In a filthy place like that, they're enough to make you a target. Unless, you're looking for a job here."

"Of course not, you idiot!" I said, bewildered. "Who do you think I am?" Weird question coming from the amnesiac.

He got his bored face back. "Don't talk so loud, you're annoying me. I don't know who you are and frankly, I don't really care."

I stared at the guy in disbelief. He was definitely not a people's person. He looked more like he was chasing people away. And the type of person that did that, was a person that's been hurt by others before. Don't trust, don't get close to anyone, and you won't be hurt. And in his case, he hid it behind a bored expression. Somehow I was familiar with this notion. I couldn't agree with it somehow. I didn't believe anyone could truly want to be alone.

"How did you know?" Suddenly asked the guy.

"Huh? What?"

"How did you know that guy had a gun? It was hidden in his jacket."

How did I know? Same way I knew Yo was going to get hit by that truck. I'd seen the man fire it. And hitting him. But I couldn't tell him that. I didn't know who he was for crying out loud.

"A good guess. When I saw him reach for something, it's the first thing that popped into my mind."

"Are you an idiot?"

"Hey, I saved your life. Be a little grateful at least."

"As if that guy could've hit me. He wasn't even standing up straight."

"Ever heard of a lucky shot?" I said, getting irritated.

"8% chance of happening in a case like this."

"Hell, you're annoying." I said turning away and drinking from my glass. The guy looked at me with a surprised look. Like it was the first time someone had dared to call him that. I kept pouting in my corner. This guy was the exact opposite of Yata. He was comfortable (or at least not bothered) with being extremely rude and inconsiderate. He was as cold as an icicle. Yet somehow, he seemed to have something about him. Like he was bottling up something dark. And there was still that familiar feeling about him. He felt... powerful. Yes. Powerful like someone fed with the aura of a King. Yeah, I was pretty sure he was clansman. Whatever clan he was from, I hoped they weren't all like him.

"If you think this place is filthy, what are you doing here?"

"I'm on break, and this was the closest place where I could get a drink. I didn't feel like walking two more blocks."

And to top it all off, he was lazy. I let out a laugh.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing. You're actually funny."

"Funny?"

"You must be the rudest person I ever met and you say you don't give a damn about anything, but you still helped me. You're a contradictory guy."

He rolled his eyes and let out an irritated. "Tch." He looked my way again. "Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"I was smiling?" I asked, confused.

"Creepy girl."

I sighed again, annoyed before tossing the rest of my coke on his face. "Cut it out with the insults."

He gave me a slightly confused face, before wiping the coke off his face. Then he surprisingly, finally cracked a smile. "Does the truth hurt?"

"Why you..." I let out a laugh again, instead of getting pissed. This guy was just impossible. "I give up. You're a jerk, but... the nice kind I think. You're the exact opposite of someone I..."

Before I could finish my sentence, something rang and he took his phone out of his pocket. "Yeah, what is it? … Okay, I'll be right there. … Yeah, yeah Lieutenant." He turned it off. "Bossy bitch."

'Hold it. Lieutenant? Bitch? I've heard that before.' He put some money on the counter before getting up. He looked at me for a minute, as if he was hesitating. Then, with a rapid hand movement, a throwing knife appeared in his hand, pointing at me. I jumped. He held it like that a couple seconds, before flipping it and presenting the handle to me.

"If you're gonna be an idiot and stay here, then at least have something to defend yourself. And put your glasses on, dummy."

I took the weapon and the guy with glasses started heading towards the exit. "Hey wait!" I called out. "What's your name?"

He turned his head towards me one more time. "Saruhiko. Saruhiko Fushimi." He walked out.

I stood there, eyes wide open and staring at the exit. The guy that had betrayed the Red Clan, the one Yata hated so much... that was him. Was that why he felt so familiar? I thought about him for a good thirty minutes, until someone finally showed up.

"There you are." Said a familiar voice.

"Yata."

"I finally got the weirdo to tell me something. You coming?"

"Right behind you."

We walked out of the building while HOMRA's skateboarding captain was calling mister Kusanagi. He stopped in the middle of the surprisingly empty street.

"All right, gotcha." He hung up and turned to me. "Mr Kusanagi says to go directly see that mentalist strain or whatever. Where are your sun glasses?"

"Shoot! I forgot them inside. I'll be right back!"

I ran back inside the hotel and into the bar. It took me a while to find them. Lucky for me, someone had given it to the front desk. I thanked the people there and hurried back out. But the second, I stepped out of the building, I froze. Something wasn't right. The street was completely deserted. Of civilians that is. A bunch of people dressed in blue uniforms were in the street. I recognized the lieutenant Awashima. There was a tall man with black hair and glasses. His sword was out. And standing in front of him, was standing Yata. Except he looked like he had trouble standing. He was panting heavily and he was holding his left arm with his right hand. Blood was staining his sleeve and leaking on the ground.

"What the hell... is going on?"

* * *

 **Hope you guys are ready for sparks and intrigue, because soon comes chapter 5! _*evil laugh!_**


	5. Chapter 5 : Blue, Strain and Silver

**Hey guys! I'm already back! I couldn't help it! I had to write more. Hope your ready for this chapter. As LaughterLover98 said, sh*t is going down!**

 **And a big thank you to my reviewers LaughterLover98, supremeOverlordLetters, review angel, and 1 guest. Thank you so much you guys! Good reviews always boss an author! ( too)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Yata's POV**

"All right, gotcha." I hung up and turned to Taiga. "Mr Kusanagi says to go directly see that mentalist strain or whatever. Where are your sun glasses?"

"Shoot! I forgot them inside. I'll be right back!"

The amnesiac girl ran back inside the building and I let out a sigh. Why did I have to be the one to watch over her again? She was too nice. No matter what she said, she was too weak to be around someone like me. If this kept up, I'd have to ask Mr Kusanagi to let me off the hook. She was just… That's when I received a drop of water on the face. I looked up. 'Great. Looks like we're in for a free shower.' I thought as the rain started pouring down lightly.

"There you are."

I looked up. A bunch of blues had appeared in front of me. And not just any of them. That bitch of a lieutenant was here and even the damn monkey. But that wasn't the worst of it. The blue king himself was here and that was weird. Why would the King be here for just one member of another clan? 'Damn it.' The blue King stepped forward and I spun my skateboard on the ground to show him I was ready to fight no matter what. So what if he was a freakin' King?

The guy smiled creepily before speaking. "We've finally found you, Misaki Yata."

"What d'you want?"

"It's so unusual to have a red clansman come so close to Scepter 4's territory. It makes me wonder what you are up to."

"So what? I'm not doing anything, and it's not like I came here cause I wanted to."

"I wasn't finished. If it's unusual for one red clansman to come so close, it's even more unusual if the entire clan is present."

'Shit. I forgot that Mr Mikoto and the others were stirring up trouble to give us free movement. If the blues see her, they'll ask even more questions. Nosy bastards.'

"It's not like it's any of your damn business!" I growled. "Besides, I'm not on your territory. Get lost."

The lieutenant took a step closer. "How dare you speak to the captain like that?"

"Ha! Like I care, he's not my King. I don't owe him anything. And I got no reason to put up with your shit."

The heartless woman had a staring contest with me for a while before the blue King spoke again. "In any case, it is our duty to make sure your clan doesn't cause trouble. Call me paranoid if you must, but your suspicious behavior isn't doing you a favor."

"What's that?"

"Two groups that start trouble while one of their members is casually taking care of something else, you know what I call this. A diversion. I'm sure even you can understand my concerns." He gave me another idiotic smile.

'Tch. The guy's sharp.' I gave him a nasty look. "It's your damn problem if you've got concerns." Whatever that is.

"I see. Allow me to make my request clearer. You will tell me what your clan is up to. That or I'll have to arrest you and force the answers out of you."

'What was this guy's problem? He was never that clingy before, unless he had a good reason to bust us. And he usually took it directly with Mr Mikoto. Something was off about him. Still, he had no business prying in our stuff.'

"I got nothin' to say to you."

"Very well." Replied the blue King, while readjusting his glasses. "If you persist, I suppose there is no other way."

The guy looked disapointed for a second. But then, before I even got the chance to get out of the way, the blue King drew his sword and sliced it through the air. I jumped back but felt a sharp pain on my arm. I realized that I was bleeding like crazy. "You son of a bitch!"

"You couldn't even dodge that simple move? How disappointing. Really, I expected more from Suho."

"What are you talking about?"

"Sending a child to do his biding while he can enjoy a good fight. Really, what a self-centered bastard."

I stared at the guy, wanting to knock his teeth out of his mouth. How dare he? What right did he have saying that? "Now you've done it. I'm gonna take your head off, bastard. NO ONE INSULTS MR MIKOTO IN FRONT OF ME!"

With the boost of my anger, the red flames of my aura surrounded me. I stepped on my skateboard and gave it a rough push, heading towards the blue King to rip off his head. I raised my fist... but I suddenly found myself on the ground and a sharp blade pierced my shoulder.

"I suggest you cooperate, Misaki Yata."

"YATA!" I heard.

'Taiga.' I thought.

* * *

 **Taiga's POV**

I'd remained in front of the hotel, watching the whole thing completely frozen. I saw him race towards the man in blue, surrounded by his burning red aura fueled by anger and rage. But as he was about to punch the man, the ladder kicked him in the stomach with tremendous strength. Yata fell on his back and before he could even try to stand again, the man in blue pierced his left shoulder with his blade. Yata screamed out in pain. I could see the sword glowing with what was probably the blue King's aura. My body moved on it's own. I dropped my sunglasses and ran as fast as I could towards the small group. The fact that all of them could hear and see me was the very least of my problems. I was heading towards Yata when a strong arm grabbed me around the waist and stopped me.

"Don't get any closer." Said Saruhiko, and it really sounded like an order.

"Let go off me!" I said trying to shake myself free, but his grip was iron.

"Give it up. You don't want to get involved."

"I don't care!" I said still struggling. "YATA!" I shouted from the top of my lungs.

This time all of the blues turned to me, even the lieutenant and the man that'd hurt Yata. That man turned to me and said.

"And who might you be?" I ignored him and kept struggling. "Answer my question, girl."

"Go to hell." I snapped back. "Let go off me!" I resumed my struggling. The blue King suddenly walked closer to us. I stopped struggling for a second and looked at him. This man was giving off the same vibe as the other people in blue, only ten times stronger. He was truly the King. He and I had a staring contest for a little while. He rose his hand touched my cheek with it, observing my eyes. His touch was cold and it sent shivers down my spine.

"You have most unusual eyes."

He suddenly backed off when a beam of flame separated him from me. Yata was still on the ground holding up with one elbow and one hand in the air with which he had thrown the fire. But he was still panting and sweating like hell. It was like his entire energy had been drained. I could see him struggling just to hold himself up like that.

"Don't touch her."

"Oh?" Said the blue King, interested. "Could this be the reason why the red clan had been acting so quiet?"

"Don't get cocky just cause I'm down. I ain't telling you shit. Ahh!" He grunted before falling back down.

I realized Saruhiko was distracted and took the opportunity. I bit him in the arm. He flinched and loosened his grip. I sent my elbow flying in his stomach before running towards Yata and falling on my knees next to him.

"Yata! Are you alright? Yata!" He kept grunting, but no words came out of his mouth. I flipped him on his back. His whole body was tensed and he was clenching his teeth and had his eyes shut. As if he was trying to fight an intense pain. Could a stab wound really have that kind of effect? I was frozen, I didn't know what to do. I turned to the blue King.

"What did you do to him?"

"The quicker he answers my questions, the quicker he can get treatment." Replied mercilessly the man in blue. "Answer me, red clansman. What is your King plotting?"

What was wrong with this guy? He was acting like a sadist. Was he really gonna let Yata like this until he talked?

"Screw you." Growled Yata.

"Then you are not done feeling pain."

He started approaching again. Before he could come too close, I jumped on my feet and took Saruhiko's dagger our of my pocket. "Stay back!" I shouted.

He stopped a few steps away. He gave me a smirk. "Do you know who I am? Who we are child?"

"You're the head of the blue clan, Reisi Munakata I think. And all of you are Scepter 4."

"Then you know that our duty is to make sure the peace is kept between the regular population and those with supernatural powers. By standing between me and my duty, you may be protecting a threat to the general public."

"Yata isn't a threat! They're not plotting anything!" I said. "You're completely paranoid! And what kind of protector are you if you hurt people like that?"

"Are you saying you intimately know the Red Clan? Even though you are not a clansman yourself? Then you are truly part of all of this."

I gave him the most determined look I had in store. "It's got nothing to do with you, and no one is in danger. I don't care if you believe me or not, but I won't let you hurt him."

"I won't have to if you give me the answers I want." He took another step.

"Back off!"

He chuckled. "You're very protective."

I felt Yata's hand on my ankle. I looked at him. "Don't be an idiot. Get out of here."

"I'm not leaving you. No way."

The Blue King sighed. "Think carefully, girl. You have no chance of beating me."

'Of course not. But at least I can buy some time.' I thought. I didn't respond and readjusted my stand.

"Very well. You leave me no choice."

He once more readjusted his glasses. I then felt an immense pressure emitting from his body. And it was both familiar and terrifying. My heartbeat accelerated and my breathing became irregular. My entire body started trembling like never before. I couldn't even hold the knife straight. It was like fear was completely possessing me. I stood there a couple minutes before falling down to my knees. But I was still trembling. What was wrong with me? Even my insides were shaking. Munakata approached me and knelt down on one knee in front of me.

"I'm sorry, but you should understand by now that you are powerless against a King. You cannot win against me." He grabbed my chin and made me look up. "It's best to give up. Now, tell me what I want to know."

I guess it was more a desperate move than anything else, but I swung the knife with the intent of cutting his face. He caught me just before the blade could scratch his face. "You really are quite stubborn."

"I don't have anything to say to you." Damn it. Even my voice was trembling.

"It seems I will have to be more persuasive."

"Captain wait." Said lieutenant Awashima getting closer. She seemed worried. Something was definitely wrong with the Blue King. "We should take them in custody before interrogating them."

"No need. We are very close to having an answer." Replied the King with his usual calm and collected tone. "Well, girl? Will you tell me who you are?"

That guy was scary. I lowered my head, looked at the ground and clenched my teeth. We needed help and fast.

"Very well. Allow me to be more convincing."

He raised his free hand towards my face... I was completely frozen. I shut my eyes waiting his move when...

"ENOUGH, MUNAKATA!"

I opened my eyes and looked around. The King and everyone in Scepter 4 did the same. But no one was in sight. I then looked up to see someone coming crashing down. The Blue King suddenly let go, stood and backed up to avoid being crushed by the person who landed right in front of me. I could only see her from the back, but it was a girl. She didn't seem to be very tall. She was barefoot and wearing simple blue jeans and a long white coat. She had long, flowing hair that were the same color as Anna's. She looked almost too thin but there was an incredibly powerful feeling emitting from her. She turned to look at me and Yata briefly. She had caring and worried light purple eyes. She walked towards the Blue King until she was a step away from him.

"How dare you act without my permission? This is a clear violation of our agreement." She snapped.

"Forgive me, Ome. But the matter was urgent. As the head of Scepter 4, I …."

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" Interrupted the angry girl. "We had an agreement. This is my territory, you warn me before you come here! That was the deal."

"The red clan was acting suspicious by coming here. We had to figure out why." Said the Lieutenant.

"If you'd given me a call like you were suppose to, I would've told you that I am the one that asked them to come here."

The Blue King and his Lieutenant looked at each other with serious faces for a moment. Then Munakata turned around to face the girl again.

"You have my sincerest apology, Ome. As the Blue King, I will make sure we make it up to you."

"You think I'm letting you off that easily?"

"AAAHH!" Suddenly screamed Yata.

I approached him again. He was clenching to his shirt near his heart as if he wanted to rip it off. I grabbed the collar and pulled down the shirt a bit. That's when I saw it. Around the wound of the blade in his shoulder, Yata's veins were clearly visible and had turned crystal blue. Like the aura of the blue clan. Like branches of a tree, the blue marks were slowly spreading on his arm and chest. And it seemed to be extremely painful. I was completely impotent.

"Yata! Can you hear me?" He seemed to be irresponsive. "Help me!" I shouted, desperately.

The girl in one swift jump found herself facing me, on the other side of Yata. Her eyes widened when she looked at the wound. She gave a worried look to the Blue King. Yata was still grunting and struggling to contain another scream. To top it all of he was burning up.

"What's happening to him?"

"Aura poisoning." She said without taking her eyes of him. Without hesitating, she ripped his shirt to uncover his shoulder and moved the strap of his tank top. Then she looked at me. "You're gonna have to help me hold him down. Hold his arm. This is gonna hurt."

I did what she told me. She rose her hand and her nails suddenly stretched into very thin claws. Without hesitation, she pierced the flesh around the wound. Yata let out a loud grunt and tried to move but I pressed my whole wait on his arm to keep him still. Then the blue veins on his body started to regress and come back to the original wound. Except, they looked like they were being absorbed by the girl. The veins of her arm started turning blue like Yata's and she looked like she was in pain. But she clenched her teeth and didn't remove her hand until all the blue had disappeared from Yata's body. But by that time, her entire arm was covered in branches of blue aura all the way up to her jaw. Yata was now completely still and he looked like the pain was gone. The girl stood back up with difficulty and I helped her.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"I will be, don't worry about me." She turned to the blue King and gave him a serious look. "We'll have to talk soon. Now, get out of my territory."

"I still need answers from those two."

Ome frowned harder and suddenly snapped her fingers. Suddenly, four more people were standing near us. They all looked a bit stranged and were staring at the blue Clan with hateful looks. They were all dressed in long white coats.

"You don't want to start a fight with us, Munakata." Said Ome.

"You're right I don't. I will leave as soon as I get an answer."

Both sides seemed to be waiting for the other to start fighting. Then a flash of white light blinded us for a bit and we all looked up. A young man with white hair in a school uniform and holding an old umbrella was floating in the air and smiling at us.

"Now, now can't we all just get along?" He landed in the middle of both groups and turned to Munakata. "I must agree with Ome, Blue King. You have no good reason to be after the red clansman or this girl. You shouldn't be here. You also don't seem to be yourself. You should go rest."

He'd said all that with a warm and calm voice, and never stopped smiling. Munakata seemed disturbed for a moment but he then replied.

"As you wish, your excellency. Forgive me for the commotion." He said bowing to the young man.

"No harm done." He turned to Seri. "Lieutenant, make sure he rests well."

"Yes your excellency." She seemed very relieved as she turned to the group of blue clansman. "Fold back. We are returning to headquarters."

Ome sighed. "Thank you, Yashiro. This would have been a lot worse without your intervention."

"I felt like it was a good time to step in. I was at your office but you didn't show up so I decided to look for you."

"Well, I'm glad you found us. We'll talk later, first could you help me bring this one to my office. He passed out."

"I'll take care of him." He came closer to the past out Yata and touched his forehead. Silver aura surrounded him and his body started floating in the air. The Silver King took off while 'dragging' the red clansman behind him. I looked at them go, completely confused. The girl named Ome picked up his skateboard and told me to follow her. She took me and the rest of the people to a small building. I followed her inside and we took the elevator to the fifteenth and last floor. While riding, I asked.

"Thanks for lying for us back there."

"Don't worry about it. It was to my advantage too. My name is Ome Shiranui. You've been looking for me, I think."

"Are you the strain who can control minds?"

"Honestly, how do these rumors start I wonder. No I can't control minds but I have a pretty good set of skills."

"How did you know we were coming?"

"Foresight. I'm capable to see things that are happening in a ten mile radius. Only if I'm looking for it though. That's how I saw that Munakata had broken our deal. That makes me furious."

"What treaty?"

"This building is a refuge for strains who can't control their powers. It's my institute. We're called the Strain Society. And I have a territory where strain related incidents are inspected by me before Scepter 4. If the strains turn out to be my students, I take care of the matter."

"Your students? How old are you?"

"I look young right? Cause I am. I'm 18. And I have a Phd in medical science and neurosurgery."

"Seriously? How?"

"I'd tell you the story of my life to sound modest but that'd take to long. In one word, I'm a genius." She gave me a cocky smile. I smiled back. Her personality was contagious. The elevator opened and I followed her through a couple hallways.

"But I thought strains directly knew how to use there powers."

"It's true for most of those who are born with it. But those who develop them later or if they've experience some sort of trauma and lost control, they usually come here for my help. But there are two sections in my school. One is for the strains who need to learn control and the other is for people who want to specialize in supernatural science and understand how the auras can affect others. So how about you tell me why you wanted my help?"

"I think the guys wanted to see if you could help me recover my memory."

"By the guys, do you mean the red clan? I didn't think they'd accept a girl in their gang."

"I'm not part of the gang. They're just... helping me."

"It's alright if you don't want to tell me."

She stopped in front of a door and opened it. I followed her in. Inside, Yata was laying on what looked like a medical table. The Silver King was sitting on the couch of the room, and cuddling against him, was a girl with long white-pinkish hair. Ome walked over to the passed out red clansman to examine him. Her movements were a bit sloppy but I expected it was due to the aura poisoning. Still she looked confident. I was more worried about Yata.

"Is he gonna be okay?"

"Give me a minute, will you?" She replied.

"I'm sure your friend is going to be alright." Said the King, as he was giving me a reassuring smile. No wonder Kuro would work for a guy like that.

"Thank you Silver King."

"No need to be formal. My name is Yashiro Isana. You can call me Shiro. And this is Neko. She's a dear friend."

"Nice to meet ya!" Replied the hyper girl, winking at me.

"What is your name?" Asked Shiro.

"My name is Taiga."

"So it is you. Kuro's told me about you. He was a little worried about a girl hanging out with the Red Clan. It's true that they're not the most gentle people."

Ome then turned to us. "He's going to be alright. The fever has already dropped. He should wake up soon. Let's take a look at you, now."

"Wait, what about you? Aren't you poisoned?"

"One of my other powers is to absorb any aura and convert it into my own power. I have a limit and taking from a King would kill me, but this was just a scratch. It hurts like hell, but it'll be gone by tomorrow."

'She's taking this lightly.' "I didn't think Kings could have such a terrifying power."

"They can't. It only happens when the King is loosing control of his power."

"Then something is wrong with the Blue King!" I exclaimed.

"Yes. I don't know what but I'll have to find out before the Sword of Democles gets too damaged. Anyways let's get back to you. So you lost your memory?"

I explained everything that'd happen in the last two weeks and how I couldn't seem to remember anything. She smiled.

"I can force someone to show me what's in there mind but if you have nothing then I can't do anything. But lucky for you, Neko here is a memory manipulator, Maybe she can give it a try."

"Can I Shiro? Can I help her?" Asked the girl shaking the silver King by the shoulder.

"Of course. You don't need my permission for that."

"Yay! Here goes!" She jumped in front of me and placed both hands on my head. "It's not gonna hurt a bit! Promise!"

I felt a warm feeling in my mind as my memories were replaying backwards. That is until the hospital memories. And then everything stopped.

"Nyaa!" Said the frustrated girl. "It's not working Shiro! Something's blocking!" She complained.

Ome got lost in thought for a minute. "It could be that you're not able to recover memory at all. Maybe your cerebral cortex is too damaged."

I suddenly felt like my heart was being crushed. "Are you saying... I'll never remember anything?" I wanted to cry out of frustration.

"Or it could be that something supernatural is keeping you from remembering. In either case, there is still one way I can help you."

"Really?"

"If I tap into the memory of someone that knows you, I can transfer it to you and your own memory should be able to kick in and put back together the missing pieces. But for that, we have to find someone who knows you intimately. I'm sure we can help you do that."

I couldn't contain it anymore. I threw my arms around the strain and hugged her. I was so happy. "Thank you so much Ome. Thank you. Thank you."

"Easy there. You're choking me."

A lazy grunt was heard and Yata opened his eyes. He pulled himself up slowly and sat up. "What the hell happened?" He said when he saw us.

I ran towards him and hugged him as well. "I'm so glad you're okay."

The boy froze up and turned crimson. Not really knowing what to do. "Well, I'm fine now. No need to sweat it."

I let him go. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Yeah so, hm..." He said trying to avoid looking at me in the eyes with his face like red like a tomato. "What'd I miss?"

Ome explained to him what had happened.

"That son of bitch! Insulting Mr Mikoto like that. I'll make him pay for sure." Now that was the Yata I knew. Completely ignoring the fact that he'd almost died and only remembering the insult about his King. Suddenly, his watchcell rang.

"Yeah, it's Yata."

" _Where in the world are you, Yata? I've been trying to contact you for the past hour."_

"Don't worry, we're okay. We ran into the blues. I'll explain when we get back."

" _At least you guys are okay. Hurry up back here."_

"Yeah, later Mr Kusanagi." He turned to me. "We have to get back."

His white shirt had been ripped so he took it off completely, before putting on his red sweatshirt over his tank top.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Asked Shiro. "It'll be faster and the chances of encountering Scepter 4 members will be minimal."

"No offense, old man, but I ain't exactly a fan of flying. And I don't need you to protect us from anything. I can handle my own just fine. Come on, let's go." He said grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him.

"Ome, Shiro, Neko! Thank you guys!" I said. "Did you call him old man? He looks younger than you."

"That guy's over 90 years old."

"WHAT?"

"He isn't called the immortal King for nothing."

I followed him out and we both put our hoodies on before walking out in the rain towards the HOMRA HQ. While we walked Yata was silent again. But it felt so good to know he was alive and well.

"Hey Yata? I'm glad you're okay."

"Did that guy hurt you?" He asked without turning around.

"Huh? No. He didn't have time. Ome and Shiro showed up before he could."

"I see. That's good."

'What is wrong with you yata? You're so sad and distant... What is going on in your head? What are you thinking about?'

"You coming?"

"Yeah."

* * *

 **Hope you guys liked it! PLEASE REVIEW! Next chapter = confrontation Saru/Yata, hihi. ;)**


	6. Chapter 6 : Truce and Clash

**Hey guys! I'm already back! Again! I just can't stop writing! Let's get right on with the chapter and see our dear Taiga making a few decisions by herself, like a big girl! And also, a confrontation Saru/Yata!** **ENJOY!**

* * *

The the gazillionth time, I turned around in my bed. I looked at the alarm clock. 5:30am. 'Shoot.' I hadn't slept a wink. I got up without waking up Anna and headed downstairs. Some of the guys were sleeping on the couches, so I headed quietly to the kitchen and made myself a cup of tea. Then I sat down and thought about what was bugging me. Actually, three things were bothering me.

The first one was the Blue King and his clan. The only reason he'd backed down was because of the treaty and the Silver king's intervention. But I was certain he wasn't going to give up on the Red Clan. That was worrying me a lot. Seeing what he did to Yata, I wondered how far he'd be willing to go to find out this inexistent plot.

The second one, was the Silver King himself. This guy gave off the same vibe as the other Kings, but there was something more to him. It was hard to explain, but... I felt like this guy had infinite knowledge. And because of that, I felt like he could answer my question and I really wanted to ask him a lot. On the rational side, how could a guy that I'd only met know anything about me.

And the third one, maybe the one that bothered me the most was Yata. His constant bad mood and the fact that he was so distant made me feel anxious. I was sincerely worried. Was he finally starting to get tired of my presence in the clan? The thought was torturing my mind.

The combination of those three things was giving an awful headache. After we'd come back and explained to them what'd happened, Mr Kusanagi had told us to keep our distances from Scepter 4, at least for a while. But to me it sounded like that would only arouse more suspicion from the Blue King. According to Ome, he wasn't in his usual state. Whatever that state was, the only logical thing to do was to calm his paranoia. And the only way to properly do that was to tell him the truth. The chances that he would help whoever was looking for me were slim. They were the law, and pretty strict about it. No matter what Mr Kusanagi said, it was the best thing to get them off our backs. That and I didn't like the idea of the guys being in trouble because of me. After ten long minutes of deep thinking, I quickly finished my tea and went back upstairs to get changed.

"Where are you going?" Said a sleepy voice.

"Don't worry Anna, I'll be back soon. I have to go speak with someone."

I didn't even know if she'd heard my answer, but she went straight back to sleep. I went back downstairs again and took Mr Kusanagi's phone that he'd left on the counter. I went to the kitchen to avoid waking up the boys. I looked for the location of Scepter 4 HQ and then for the Strain Society's number. I wasn't expecting anyone to answer. It was way too early. But surprisingly someone did.

"Strain Society. How can I help you?"

"Hello. Could I speak to Ome Shiranui please?"

"The Doctor isn't here. She went out on a job."

"Alright. Thank you very much."

Chances were that she was with the Blue King right now. That worked perfectly for me. I put on my hoodie and walked out. It was still raining pretty hard. I ran quickly through the streets. I moved very carefully. I didn't think my hunters would be looking for me randomly in the middle of the night and I took the main streets to avoid meeting unwanted company. I ran for over thirty minutes. 'Now I know why Yata has a skateboard.' I thought. I was starting to run out of breath but I didn't stop until I reached the Headquarters of the Blue Clan. It looked like a mansion in the middle of one gigantic property. 'I wouldn't be surprised if they had other facilities even more packed than the military. Well, technically, they are the military for supernatural. Now how am I suppose to get in?'

There were multiple security cameras. The wall was over two meters high. 'I guess I could climb over it, but with all the security cam around, the alarm'll go off if I get too close.' On the other hand, it's not like I wanted to sneak in without being seen. I just wanted to see the King as fast as possible. If I could find Saruhiko or the Lieutenant first, I could avoid the problems. 'Might as well get this over with.' I took a few steps back, ran up the wall and jumped over the edge. To my big surprise, no alarm went off. Or it was a silent one. As I approached the building, two men in blue uniforms ran to meet me.

"You! Stop right there! You're trespassing on Scepter 4's HQ. Identify yourself."

I removed my hoodie, reluctantly exposing my hair to the rain. "My name is Taiga. I'm here to see the Blue King."

"You must be joking. You think you can just walk in here and ask to see the Captain, lady?"

"It's about the Red Clan. I have to speak with him now."

"If you have information, you can tell us. We'll pass it on."

"No. I'll only speak to Reisi Munakata in person."

"We won't take you to him because you claim to have info. That'd be way too easy."

I crossed my arms. "Fine. But I'm not leaving until I see him."

"Who do you think you are, kid?" He grabbed my arm and roughly pulled me towards him. "This isn't a game, you know!"

I heard a cling sound and the second one knelt down and picked something up. "Akiyama. Look." He said showing the piece of metal to his comrade.

"That's Mr Fushimi's knife. Where did you get this?" He asked me.

"He gave it to me. If you don't believe me ask him."

"What are you guys doing?" Said a familiar voice coming from behind them. Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear. The guy with glasses looked as bored as ever. Although he looked a bit surprised when he saw me. "Oh, it's you."

"Hi." Was all I could think of to reply. The guards quickly explained what had gone down and Saruhiko sighed. "Yeah, I gave it to her. You guys go back to work. You, come with me."

I grabbed the knife back from the blue clansman's hand and followed Saruhiko inside. The interior was superb. Like an eighteenth century castle. It was impressive. Saruhiko led me through a couple hallways, silent as a tomb stone. I caught up to him and walked by his side until he finally decided to speak.

"For a girl, you sure have balls."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Not really. You're reckless and that was a stupid move."

"Gee, thanks."

"You'll have to wait a bit. The Captain is busy for now."

"He's with Ome, right? That's fine. I want her to be here when I say this."

He stopped and gave me a suspicious look. "How did you know?"

"A good guess. I called her to ask her to come with me but she wasn't there. So I assumed she was here."

We resumed walking. "How's Misaki doing?" He suddenly asked out of the blue.

"Misaki? You mean Yata?" That's strange. Aren't they suppose to be enemies and hate each other? "Ome stitched him up and absorbed the blue aura completely. I think he'll be fine."

"I see." Was that just me, or was there a hint of relief in his voice? Then, again out of nowhere, a smirk appeared on his face. "That knucklehead will never learn." 'I take back what I thought.'

We arrived in front of a door. Saruhiko knocked on it. "Is that you, Fushimi? Come in."

The room was half traditional Japanese style and half european eighteenth century styled. It was kind of weird. The Lieutenant Awashima was watching carefully at her King, with a worried look on her face. Reisi Munakata was sitting in a chair, bare chest and glasses off. Standing in front of him, Ome had one hand on his forehead and the other one on his chest. Her eyes were closed and she was surrounded by a grey aura. She was still like that for a while, until the aura dissipated and she opened her eyes. She gave the Blue King a serious look.

"You're overwhelmed, Munakata. You may be a King but you're a human to. I don't know how much work you're putting into this, but your mental state is clearly affected and you're loosing control of your power. It's not noticeable to you yet, but your sword of Democles is starting to crack. You have to take everything down a notch."

"Unfortunately, I do not have the luxury of time to rest." The King stood up and started putting his shirt back on.

"When was the last time you ate? The last time you slept? The next Kagustu crater might be your fault. I'm serious about this."

"The Red Clan's got nothing to do with it." I suddenly let out.

The three people turned to me. "Well, if it isn't the young lady from yesterday. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

"I came to tell you just what you wanted. But I have two conditions. First, I want you to promise me as the Blue King that you'll leave HOMRA alone. And second, no one out of this room can know what we've talked about."

"Oh? So you've come to make a deal. That's not the style of the Red Clan."

"I told you I'm not a member. I want you to leave them alone. They haven't done anything. I've been them for over two weeks. If something fishy was going on I would have noticed."

"How can you be so sure?" Said the King sitting at his desk.

"Promise first and then I'll tell you." I said as harshly as I could.

He observed me for a long minute before, smirking and answering. "Very well. You have my word for both conditions."

"Good. The Red Clan calls me Taiga, but the truth is I have no idea who I am. I have amnesia. A while ago, I woke up in a hospital with no memory. The only thing I know, is that there are people after me. A pair of male twins. HOMRA is protecting me and helping me find my memories. That's all."

"So that's why they were so sneaky lately." Said the lieutenant. "One thing still puzzles me though. Why would the Red Clan suddenly help out someone?"

"They say they owe me a debt for saving Anna. They've been helping me ever since."

"Sounds like them alright." Said Ome. "If there's one thing these guys do, it's keep promises."

"That's all. Please remember your promise Mr Munakata. If you hurt one of my friends again, I won't just stand by. It doesn't matter to me if you're a King or not."

I turned around to head for the exit. "I have one last question for you. Are you a strain?"

"No. I don't think so. Goodbye Mr Munakata."

I walked out soon followed by Saruhiko and Ome. "You'll never find the way out alone. This place is a maze." Said the Strain.

"It's not like you know it." Muttered the blue clansman.

"I never said I'd guide us out. You're doing it."

"Tch."

Saruhiko walked us out of the property. The second out, I asked. "So you know what's bothering Mr Munakata?"

"Yeah. Can you keep it to yourself?" Replied Ome.

"You already have one of my secrets. I think I can keep yours."

"Okay. For the past six months, illegal merchandise has been shipped out of Japan and to the rest of the world. All the cargos have been stopped thanks to Scepter 4. But the attempts aren't stopping."

"Why is Scepter 4 taking care of it?"

"That's the thing. The cargo is a bunch of small containers filled with a powerful aura. Too strong to be that of strain."

"So he thinks a King is behind this. And he can't find which."

"Exactly. That's what's disturbing him and well, you've seen the results. Enough of that though. Now that I actually get your situation, I think finding these guys might be to your advantage. They seem to know who you are."

"And how do you suggest I do that? Wait for them to pick me up on the sidewalk? Thanks but no thanks."

"You forget that you have one of the most powerful gangs of the city with you."

"And they're already doing enough for me. I'm not asking them to do that."

"It's your call, girl." She looked at her watch. "It almost seven. I have time before work. I'll walk you back. I'm not sure your pals are happy that you snuck out alone."

* * *

 **HOMRA bar**

"Honestly, Taiga. You're just looking for trouble." Scolded Mr Kusanagi.

This must have been the most awkward situation I've ever been in. I was sitting on the couch while all the HOMRA members were standing in front of me, giving me reproachful looks. All except Yata who wasn't here (again) and Mikoto who was sitting next to me and watching me, a cigaret in his mouth.

"Look I'm sorry. But I'd told you, you wouldn't have let me go."

"And what if the Blue King hadn't listen to you? What if your plan backfired on you?" Continued the bartender.

"But it worked. Besides, Mr Munakata is not a bad person. I just know he'll keep his promise."

"That's naive thinking Taiga."

I stood up. "Maybe it is. I have no idea who I am or what I want. But I at least know what I don't want, Mr Kusanagi. I don't want any of you to get hurt like Yata did yesterday. Ever! So I did what I had to to keep Scepter 4 off your back. I couldn't live with myself if one of you got badly hurt or worse."

All the guys were silent for a while. Then the Red King stood up and walked up to me. He was a lot taller than he looked. He brought both his hands up and placed them on my cheeks. He looked me in the eye. He then pinched both my cheeks and pulled them on each side.

"Ow ow ow ow!" Was all I could say. "Wha' ar' you 'oing, 'ister 'ikoto?"

"Don't make decisions like that on your own, dummy. If you've got something you don't agree with or want to discuss, then speak up. We're not gonna eat you. Got it?"

His voice was so calm and warm. He sounded just as bored as always, but at the same time, I could feel how gentle and how kindhearted Mikoto Suho was. I looked down, defeated. He let go off me and patted me on the head. "Answer me, Taiga."

My cheeks turned red out of shame and I looked away."Yes, sir."

He cracked a small smile. "Good girl." The King started heading towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Asked Kusanagi.

"I'm taking a nap. Moralizing someone, is exhausting. Oh, while you're at it, one of you should get her a phone."

* * *

I was sitting on the porch of the HOMRA bar, admiring my new bracelet/cellphone. Yata's watchcell had given me the idea. It was a lot easier to carry around like this. It was a red thick bracelet on my wrist. It was some pretty nice high tech. I didn't even want to know how much the boys had paid for it. But I was bored. All the guys were working and Anna was resting because of a headache. Truth be told, I wanted to see Yata and figure out what was wrong with him. But he'd told Mr Kusanagi that he was taking the day off and he wasn't at home. So here I was, stuck with nothing to do. I'd already cleaned up the bar. Twice. And I wasn't familiar enough with the city to look for him.

"Hold on. But, she knows..." I quickly dialed.

"Strain Society. How may I help you?"

"Could I speak with Ome Shiranui please?"

A few seconds went by. "Remind me to give you my cell number before I hang up. What's up Taiga?"

"I wanted to ask if you know where Yata is."

"Feeling lonely?"

"No! I just need to clear things up with him. It feels like he's ignoring me."

"Maybe he is. Give me a sec... yeah he's at the skatepark right next to the shopping mall. And he looks pissed. You might not want to go see him now."

"Okay, thanks for the info. I owe you one."

"You don't owe me squat, Taiga. What are friends for? "

Wow, she was quick to call me a friend. She seemed overly trusting. "You know, you should think about catching those guys. They might be the only thing linking you to your past. Later."

I hung up and went to sit at the bar. Without having time to think, I fell asleep on it.

* * *

"Hey. Wake up. I don't have any time to waist."

Something pocking me on the cheek woke me up. I blinked a couple times and rubbed my eyes quickly.

"Saruhiko? What are you doing here?" I said with a sleepy voice. "You're not wearing your uniform."

"I've come to ask you a couple things. About you amnesia."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because it's possible that you're related to a series of events that's been happening lately."

"The illegal cargos?"

"Looks like Ome couldn't shut up after all." he sighed.

"I didn't tell anyone. But what makes you think I've got something to do with it?"

"First off you don't act at all like a normal person with amnesia. And you give off weird vibes.I'd explain to you my full reasoning but I don't feel like it and you probably won't understand. I don't want to be here, so let's get this over with."

"You're as charming as usual. Oh wait, I should give this back to you while I'm at it." I took the knife out of my pocket and offered it to him.

"You can keep it."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not particularly attached to it."

The door suddenly opened. "Well, would you look at who decided to drop in for a visit?" Said Masaomi.

"What's up Fushimi?" Said Yo. "Hope you're comfortable in our HQ."

"You've got some nerve showing your face here, traitor." Snapped Shohei.

The blue clansman stood up. "Then it's a good thing I didn't come here for you. I'm not here because I want to be."

"What do you want? It better be damn important because otherwise, you're not walking out of here unbruised." Said Shohei cracking his knuckles.

"As if you losers had the power to put a scratch on me. You're nothing without your King around."

I felt the guys anger take up a notch. I stood up. "Hold on guys. Calm down." I turned to him.

Yo didn't seem to hear me. "Cut the shit out, what is it that you want?"

Saruhiko then cracked a sadistic grin. "Blood." That sent shivers down my spine.

"You sick bastard." Replied the red clansman.

"I already said if it was your blood I was after, I would have killed you by now. Do you ever use your ears, scumbag?"

That's when I slapped him as hard as I could. All of them gave me a shocked expression. "Stop it! You're here to talk to me, so talk and then leave."

The blue clansman readjusted his glasses before taking what looked like a small syringe out of his jacket. It was empty. "Like I said, I came for your blood. It'll help me look for traces of aura or supernatural power and find out if you have no relations to this. In exchange, I might be able to find out who you are. DNA doesn't lie. Unlike people."

"If I say no, what are you gonna do?"

"Obtain it anyway. When I have a lead, I don't overlook it."

"What's that you fuckin' monkey?" Said a new voice.

Yata stepped inside looking completely infuriated. He pushed the others out of the way.

"Well, hello Misaki."

"Don't call me by my first name. What the hell is your business here, you traitor? It better be a damn good reason."

"Like I told your friends, I want her blood."

"YOU SCREWED UP SON OF A BITCH!"

"Yata, please..." I pleaded. I knew he was an inch away from going berserk. But Saruhiko wasn't helping.

"Now, now Misaki. You know Mr Kusanagi wouldn't like it if you destroyed his precious bar. That and you'll pull your stitches. By the way does it still hurts?"

Yata was clenching his teeth. Saruhiko was right but he was provoking him on purpose. "Get the fuck out." He said.

Saruhiko looked bored again. "Since when do you bow so easily, Misaki? Looks like your lazy King isn't keeping you in well enough shape. You disappoint me."

That was the last drop. "YOU'RE GONNA DIE, MONKEY!"

My reflex was beyond stupid. These guys were strong enough to take my head off with one blow. But I guess my mind wasn't thinking at the time. My body moved on it's own and I placed myself in front of Saruhiko just as Yata was about to punch him in the face. My nose took the full blow. It was so strong that I was thrown back and my spine hit the counter violently, before I collapsed on the ground. My head was all fuzzy, but I forbade myself from passing out.

"TAIGA!" I heard many voices call out. Saru and Yata stayed frozen while the three other red clansman ran to my side.

"Are you alright?" Asked Yo.

When I raised my head to look at him, my head spun and I reflexively brought my hands up to my nose when a flow of blood escaped it. So much, that it leaked even through my hand. I grabbed on to one of the chairs and pulled myself to my feet. I walked towards Saru, not straight though. I snatched the syringe from his hand and stabbed myself in the arm, filling it up with my blood. I handed it back to him, and gave him a very serious look, as blood kept dripping from my nose and mouth.

"Leave."

He walked out without a word. Shohei caught me just before I could fall. My breathing was heavy and my mind still fuzzy. "My head hurts." I told him.

"Okay, let's get your face cleaned up."

He picked me up bridal style and took me to the kitchen. I glanced at Yata. He was staring at the ground eyes wide open and his fist still clenched.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it! Sorry the confrontation wasn't that long. But I promise you more! Next chapter, we get a glimpse of our hunters, Keiji and** **Akihiko! ;)**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**


	7. Chapter 7 : True bond and lies

**Hey K lovers! I know the last chapter was left on a sad note, so how about we see a little reconciliation, what d'you say? Hope you enjoy this one!**

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"Okay. That's enough for today" Said Shohei. "Good work Taiga. Your dodging as good as ever and your blocks are really sinking in."

It was around five. I was once more in the parking lot, for training. It was Shohei's turn and we'd been practicing for a good two hours. No one had come to see me train, so it was just the two of us. Shohei threw me a can of Sprite and a towel. I wiped the sweat off my face.

"Thanks Shohei." I sat on the ground and drank from the can. The sparkling beverage refreshed me instantly. "He didn't come today either, huh?"

"Honestly, I understand him. I'd be ashamed to show my face if I had punched a girl. But Yata's even more sensitive to it. Hurting girls is something he forbids to himself and everyone around."

Two days had gone by since I got punched. Yata hadn't come to the bar and hadn't even bothered to call. Even Mr Mikoto and Mr Kusanagi were starting to get worried. Shohei and I went back to the bar. I went upstairs and took a shower. Rikio, Yo, Masaomi and Shohei were all sitting at the bar, not saying a word to each other. Either drinking or smoking. Mr Kusangi was leaning against the wall, lost in thought. I approached.

"What happened?"

"Yata got into a nasty fight with the Black Dog." Said Yo.

"What? Is he okay?"

"He got his ass handed to him as usual, but he's fine. The thing is, there was a lot of damage. It's lucky they were alone. I think Yata needed to let off some steam. A lot of it. There's nothing we can do when he's like that. He's all depressed and even the tiniest thing ticks him off."

"It's happened before?"

"Yeah. After Totsuka's death. We told you about him, right?"

"Yeah. Where is Yata right now."

"No one knows. He's not answering his cell and apparently he hasn't been home for two nights. I called Ome as well. She's not answering."

"I have an idea." I said.

* * *

 **9:47pm**

I walked into the small ramen shop and went to sit at the counter. I ordered a boll and ate slowly, savoring avery bite. Once finished, I ordered a drink and sipped it slowly. Half an hour later, HOMRA's skateboarding captain came in. He had bags under his eyes and looked like a zombie. He was staring at the ground. Cuts and bruises were visible on his face and arms. Probably what was left of his fight with Kuro. The young man sat next to her without realizing I was here. He called out the owner.

"Oh, Yata. It's unusual to have you here two days in a row."

"Yeah, whatever old man. I'll have the usual."

"Comin' right up." He turned to me. "You're lucky he came by again today. The lady's been waiting for you for a bit now." He added before turning around and preparing the ramen.

It took a while for Yata to process what the guy had just said and when he finally turned his head and saw me. He made a brusk move and almost fell off his chair.

"Hi Yata."

He sighed. He looked grumpier than ever. He was looking at the counter to avoid eye contact with me. "What are you doing here? You're not suppose to be out alone."

"I'm not alone. You're here. You okay? You look horrible..." I said as I tried to put my hand on his forehead. To my surprise he gently pushed my hand away.

"I'm fine. Just answer the question?"

"I'm here because I want to talk to you."

"How did you even find me? Did that strain snitch on me?"

"No. I couldn't get a hold of her. So I asked the only person who can know you well enough to guess where you are."

"Who?"

"Your mom."

His eyes widened. "You talked to my mom?"

"Yep. She's really nice. I hope my mom is like that. You're siblings are adorable too."

"I know that. So, why d'you wanna see me?"

"Because I want to know why you're avoiding me. Don't even try to deny it. You've been acting weird Yata. Everyone is worried about you. Even Mr Kusanagi and Mr Mikoto are starting to get nervous."

"Mr Mikoto's worried about me?" He suddenly seemed surprised and a little happy.

"Did you doubt it? Mr Mikoto has a big heart. I think he cares very much for all of you."

Yata was silent for a while. He seemed happy but then sadness came back to his face. It was obvious something was making him tense.

"Well? Talk." I said.

"About what?"

"The reason you're depressed, dummy." He turned away. "Come on Yata. If not, I'm gonna tickle you to death." I grabbed his waist and started tickling him. To my big surprise he actually started laughing.

"Okay, okay stop!" He said trying to regain his serious. "Did my mom tell you about that too?"

"Actually, she did it to your little brother while I was there. I thought I'd try it on you. It worked. Come on Yata talk to me. I'm really worried. Did I do something?"

"No, it's not you." He said no more.

"You know you're starting to piss me off." He turned to me with a surprised look. I guess he wasn't expecting me talking like him or getting angry. "When you do that, you're punishing me more than anything else."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"You're making us all worry about your sorry ass, while all you do is sulk in your corner about your own problem! Do you know how self centered that makes you?"

I didn't mean anything I said, but I needed to trigger a reaction from him. And the only way to do that, was making him angry. And it worked. He gave me a furious look and shouted back.

"I'm not doing cause I want to!"

"So what? You're being blackmailed?"

"No dammit! I'm trying to protect you!"

My eyebrows shot up and I gave him a surprised look. Realizing what he'd just said, the red clansman's face turned crimson and he turned away.

"Protect me from what? You?" He tensed up, as if he was worried about my reaction. I choked the laughter coming up my throat. "But why? You're not dangerous to me."

This time he crashed his fist on the wooden table and gave me a serious look. "You gotta be joking." He grabbed my still bandaged hand where I'd been burned a little roughly and I grunted.

"Ow."

"You're still hurt from when I burned you."

"Yata, that was an accident." I said.

"Exactly. It's an accident every time. It was the same for your nose. Same with the blues's king. I couldn't do anything. If you stick around me, you're gonna get hurt again."

"So you're gonna stay away from everyone until I'm gone? Is that it? What if I never recover my memory? Are you gonna stay away from HOMRA forever? I already told you I'm not fragile. And that punch, I took it because I wanted to. It's my own damn fault, so stop blaming yourself over that."

"It doesn't matter. The only way I can protect you, is by staying away."

I clenched my teeth. "You're an idiot." I muttered.

"Huh?"

"You heard me! You're an idiot! What's life without risks? Yata, I love HOMRA and I love the fact that you guys are so nice to me even though you don't know who I am. And to tell the entire truth, you're all I have right now. If you go away, I loose a big part of what I have. I'd rather take a good beating every now and then with you around, rather than not seeing you at all and never having a scratch on me."

I stopped to catch my breath. Yata was now looking at me with eyes wide open and a stunned face... that was slowly turning pinkish. Then I placed my hand in front of my mouth, realizing what I'd just said. I'd basically said that I liked him. Well, I did, but...I didn't mean like... I turned away as my face was also turning red.

"I-I mean, HOMRA's not complete without you. And, well when you take off like that, it makes me sad because I feel like you're running from me. And for the record you're a great bodyguard, and you're fun to hang out with, and... and voila. You're not the big brute you think you are."

The both of us stayed completely quiet looking away from each other, not knowing at all what to say to the other. Then the owner placed Yata's bowl in front of him.

"Ah, love. You youngsters are so spontaneous these days."

Both our faces turned even redder. "W-what are you talking about old man?" Shouted Yata standing from his seat.

"Come on Yata, don't be shy. You've got yourself a very pretty girlfriend who cares a lot. You lucky bastard."

"It's not like that! She's not my girlfriend!"

"HAHAHA! Yeah,yeah. Take good care of her. Fine woman like these are rare these days." Continued the old man, lost in his fantasies, as he went back inside the kitchen.

I quietly sipped my drink while Yata ate his dinner. We both stayed quiet and I was pretty sure his face was as red as mine the whole time. When he was finally done, he leaned on the counter and seemed very focused.

"So, are you coming back? I miss having you around. It's not lively enough. And I'm not the only one. Even Anna asked for you."

"..."

I sighed. "Just so you know, it hurts a lot more when you disappear than when you punch me."

I got off my seat, put on my hoodie on and walked out of the small ramen shop. It was raining again. I walked through the empty streets, lost in thought. It was dark now. I looked at my cell. It was past midnight. I was wondering if my words had reached him at all. Yata was a real knucklehead. Things only get through if he decides so. I sighed. I kicked a can on the ground. That's when two guys stepped out of the alley in front of me.

"Oi, lady. You don't pas in our street at this hour without giving us some compensation."

Honestly not in the mood to be angry or scared, I walked passed them without stopping. Then one of them grabbed my arm roughly to kept me from going further.

"Hey, we're talking to you."

I quickly rose my free hand and swung my fist towards his face, putting my whole strength in my punch, just like the guys had taught me. The guy let go off me.

"You little bitch. You're gonna pay for that! I'm gonna..."

I got to a fighting stance, starting to get anxious. But then I felt an arm around my shoulder. It was warm. "Gonna what?"

Yata's eyes had flames in them. He was giving them his signature bad boy 'you-talkin'-to-me' nasty face. He was also holding his skateboard. He flipped it and the guys immediately backed off at the sight of the HOMRA insignia.

"Crap! It's Yatagarasu!"

"Let's go man."

The two of them left as quick as they came. And I couldn't be happier. I smiled at my favorite bodyguard. "Thanks."

He blushed again and looked up. "Yeah... no big deal. Don't fuss about it."

"Hum, Yata? You can let me go now." I said pocking his hand on my shoulder.

He quickly took his arm away when he realized. His face remained red. He mumbled a let's go before starting walking in front, as he always did. I caught up to him.

"So. What made you change your mind?"

"I just...figured it's worse to make you cry than to punch you. Not that I will punch you! Don't get the wrong idea! And you're a magnet for trouble, you know? I swear you attract the worst kind of guys."

"I what now?"

"You heard me. First those sons of bitches from the hospital, then the Black Dog, then the blues, then that damn monkey..."

"I'm not doing it on purpose!"

"Doesn't matter. Anyone who lays a hand on you is gonna loose a couple fingers to third degree burns."

It was my turn to blush, AGAIN. It was like the tenth time tonight. To distract myself I gave him a light punch in the arm and started running.

"First one at the bar wins! You can't use your skate!"

"Hey, you got a head start!"

* * *

 **HOMRA bar**

Ten minutes later, Yata and I were both on the couch under the window of the bar. Both of us completely out of breath and panting our lungs out. To top it all off we were completely soaked. Yata took off his white shirt and shoes and I did the same with my sweatshirt.

"Man...you run fast... for a girl." Said Yata in between huffs.

"You kidding? ...I can...barely...keep up with you..." I replied. "It's lucky you had the keys, everyone's gone. By the way. That guy back there... why did he call you Yatagarasu?"

"That's the nickname HOMRA gave me."

"You sound proud..."

"That's cause I am." He said giving me a proud smirk.

"Hey. Promise you won't take off like that again." I said

He gave me a serious look. "Don't worry about that. I ain't going nowhere. I'm gonna protect you 'till these guys are permanently damaged." I was surprised he knew the meaning of the word permanent.

"Pinky swear?" I said presenting him my hand.

He grabbed my pinky with his and gave me a cocky smirk. "I never go back on a promise. No blood, no bone, no ash."

A fire glowed in his eyes when he said that. I had no idea what that last sentence meant, but I was finally relaxed. But that was all I remembered from our conversation before falling asleep.

* * *

 **External POV**

It was almost dawn when Izumo pushed open the door of his bar and walked in followed by Mikoto and a couple of clansmen.

"So none of you have any idea where Taiga is?" He sighed. "Now we have a problem. Anna is still too sick to help and I couldn't get a hold of the doctor Strain."

"You've got to be kidding me." Suddenly said Yo. "Look."

He said that pointing at the couch. On each side of the couch, the crow and the golden eyed girl were sound asleep.

"Seriously?" Said Shohei. "They were here the whole time?"

"Yata, you bastard. And here we were worrying about your sorry ass." Growled Masaomi.

Then an evil smirk appeared on Yo's face. "Guys, check this out."

He moved to the side of the couch where Taiga was, and gently pushed her towards Yata. The golden eyed girl slowly fell on her side and her head landed on the red clansman's shoulder. But that wasn't all. Yata growled a bit in his sleep as if he was going to wake up. But then he just yawned and leaned his head on Taiga's. The red clansmen snickered. Yo took out his phone and took a picture. Mikoto then sighed. "Brats."

"I'm gonna take a guess and say that Taiga brought Yatagarasu back to us." Said Izumo, looking at their intertwined pinkies.

* * *

 **Ashinaka High School Campus**

"Shiro." Called out Kuro as he entered the small student home of his King on the campus. The white haired boy was sitting on the floor at the table, eating sweets and drinking tea with Neko.

"What is it Kuro? You don't look so good."

"There are two men who want to see you. They say they'd like your help about something important."

"Well, let them in." Replied the Silver King.

Kuro went back out and a few moments later, returned followed by two man. They were almost mirror images of each other. Both of them had dark brown hair and blue eyes. One of them had longer straight hair and a bang almost covering his right eye. The other one had shorter and messy hair. Their clothes were also similar. Dark brown pants, black T-shirts, gloves and biker boots. The first one had a long coat and a pair of short katanas crossed on his back. The other one, only a regular jacket and a gun in a holster attached to his left leg. No matter how you looked at it, there was two obvious things about them. One, they were twins. Two, they were mercenaries. Both of them bowed down.

"Greeting, Silver King." Said the long haired one. "My name is Akihiko Inukai. And this is my brother, Keiji."

"Please to meet you." Replied the King with a smile. "Why don't you sit?"

Both men did as they were told as Kuro went to sit next to Shiro. Keiji gave Shiro a cocky smile. "Who'd have thought the first King was just a high schooler? No offense but that really doesn't reflect your power. Are you sure you're the Silver King?"

"Kei." Scolded Akihiko.

"What? Come on bro, we're here for something important right? Isn't it normal we make sure we talk to the real thing?"

"Show some respect." Snapped Kuro. "The man standing in front of you is Adolf K. Weissman, the first and Silver King."

"It's alright Kuro. If they have important business, it's only fair." Shiro suddenly got surrounded by the silver aura and was lifted into the air a meter off the ground. He remained there a couple seconds before landing. "I hope this convinces you."

Keiji whistled. "Not bad." He then received a slap on the back of the head. "Ow. That hurts Aki."

"Forgive my brother, Silver King. He obviously need to learn manners. Allow me to cut right to the chase. We are looking for someone and we believe that person is here, in Shizume City." The mercenary took a photo out of his jacket and gave it to Shiro who looked at it. "She's very pretty. Who is she?"

"The ward of an important businessman. He asked us to track her down when she ran away. She's eighteen and she's been missing for almost three weeks."

"Why did she run away?"

"No one really knows. Apparently she was having hallucinations and started thinking her guardian was out to kill her."

"But why would you ask me for help?"

"Apparently she also talked about the Silver King being able to save her in her delirium." Continued Akihiko. "That's why we think she's around here and might try to get in contact with you."

"I see. Well, she must be really important if her guardian went so far as to ask you two for help. I'm sorry I can't help you, I haven't seen her. I think I would remember someone with eyes like hers."

"Well, if you do see her please give us a call at the number on the other side of the picture."

"Sure."

They looked at each other and stood up. "Thank you for your time. Let's go Kei."

"Oh and just so you know, Silver King. If you're hiding anything, we'll find out."

Kuro stood up, hand on his sword. "One more word out of you and I will cut your tongue, mercenary."

"You wish, Black Dog." Replied the man, reaching for his gun.

"Keiji, we're leaving."

He sighed and dropped his gun. "You're no fun, Aki."

Once the brothers gone, Kuro turned to Shiro. "Shiro, is this picture what I think it is?"

"It's her alright. These guys seem to be the type you hire for a hit, not find a lost girl. You felt it too didn't you?"

"Yes. These two are definitely strains."

"You think they lied-nya?" Asked Neko, her mouth full of crackers.

Shiro nodded. "She came to see Ome because she lost her memory. She might not even know that these men are after her. Kuro, go to the red clan and warn them. I'm going to pay a visit to Ome."

"You want her to keep track of these guys?"

"Yes. Now hurry."

* * *

 **Somewhere in Shizume**

"So bro. You think he'll help us?"

"No. I don't even think he bought the story. And he lied about knowing her. But that works to our advantage anyways."

"True that. I can't wait to see the little cat again. Two days from now, we'll have her back."

"Don't get ahead of yourself. She seems to have made powerful allies. We can't act carelessly."

"What could go wrong? Say, it's been forever since we've been in a good fight... Don't ya miss it?"

"My blades are thirsty for blood. But patience is always rewarded."

"Few! You scary when you talk like that, Aki. But you're right. I'm dying to kill something."

* * *

 **Oh oh, trouble's getting close! Next chapter, let's see Taiga try to patch things up with Fushimi! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	8. Chapter 8 : Reluctant alliance

**Yep, I'm already back! That fast enough for you Rusty14? Anyways, I just couldn't stop writing, so ... just enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 **HOMRA bar**

People were talking and it woke me up. I sat up and stretched. Mr Kusanagi was cleaning yet again his glass collection, while talking to the clansmen that were here.

"Oh, Taiga. Good morning."

"Good morning, Mr Kusanagi." I said while rubbing my eyes and yawning. I went to sit next to Eric at the counter. "I'm so sleepy."

"Hey Taiga." Called out Yo from the end of the counter. "Looks like the sleeping beauty didn't need a kiss to wake up after all."

I was too tired to talk back. "Hi guys. Sorry about yesterday. I forgot to call."

"Well, you brought Yata back so..."

"Where is he?"

"Patrol. He needed to cool off I think."

They all snickered. I frowned. "Okay, what did you do?"

"Just woke him up before you." They laughed some more.

"Seriously. What did you do?"

Yo smirked at me, before taking out his phone and started dialing something. The other guys were snickering while eating their breakfast. I was starting to get seriously worried. Then my cell beeped. I turned it on and opened the text from Yo. It was a picture. Of me and Yata sleeping in the couch. And I my head was resting on his shoulder. My jaw dropped and my cheeks turned red.

"Ooh, she's blushing." Said Masaomi, chuckling.

"How...I -I didn't fall asleep like that!" I protested.

Yo shrugged his shoulders. "You're attraction for him must have been too strong."

"He pushed you." Stated Eric, while quietly drinking from his glass.

"Yo!" I said, angry and embarrassed. "Please tell me you didn't send it to..."

"I just have to press this button to send it to Yata. And everyone else, including Mr Kusanagi and Mr Mikoto."

"No you don't!" I shouted.

I jumped out of my seat and started chasing Yo around the bar. He held his phone too high for me and I jumped to try and grab it.

"Delete that right now!"

He laughed at my useless attempts to catch his phone while jumping. "Come on, Taiga. You can do better than that."

"If anything breaks Yo, it's on your tab." Warned Mr Kusanagi.

"You want better? Fine!"

I dropped to the floor and swung my leg in his ankle. Completely taken by surprise, Yo fell flat on his back. Grabbing the opportunity, I snatched his phone form his hand. He'd already sent it.

"You bastard!"

"Sorry. I swear it was an accident! I wasn't expecting that kick."

I squeezed the phone and gave him a murderous look, before walking towards the bar. I grabbed a half full cup of coffee that belonged to Bando, and held Yo's phone over it.

"Taiga, please don't! It's brand new!" Begged Yo. "I'm really really sorry!"

"That doesn't cut it." I said.

"She's angry." Sated Eric, still sipping his drink.

"Very angry." Continued Kosuke. "Yo's in for it."

Then heavy footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. Mr Mikoto was looking at his phone. He stopped in the middle of the staircase and looked at me and then Yo. Then he pressed a few buttons on his phone and the beep sound of DELETE was heard. 'Thank you Mr Mikoto.' I thought. He continued walking towards the couch, and while passing in front of his clansman said.

"Delete it."

All the guys looked at each other, before shrugging their shoulders and doing what they were told. I did the same with Yo's phone before throwing it back to him.

"Oh, come on. Do you have any idea how we could've messed with Yata with that picture."

"Yeah, sure if you want to loose your teeth. Don't include me in your pranks. Be glad I didn't drown your phone." I sat back down.

"Hey, Taiga. You're not angry for real, are you?"

"Don't talk to me." I snapped without turning around.

Knock. Knock. Everyone looked at the door. Kuro entered, with a very serious expression on his face. Well even more than usual.

"Hi Kuro. What are you doing here?"

"Goodmorning, Taiga." He turned to everyone. "I've come to speak with the Red King and Izumo Kusanagi."

Mikoto didn't even open his eyes. "If it's about Yata, forget it. I'm not interested in complaints."

"I wouldn't come all the way here for such a trivial matter. This isn't the first or last time that he and I will fight. I'm here on behalf of my King. And it concerns you."

This time, Mikoto opened his eyes. Mr Kusanagi placed his glass down and lit a cigarette. "If it concerns her, say it so everyone can hear, Black Dog."

I felt my stomach twist inside. "Kuro?" I said giving him a worried look.

"Two man came to talk to Yashiro today." He said, while taking a picture out of of his coat and handing it to me. "They were looking for you."

On the picture, was a girl with light caramel colored hair and golden eyes in a school uniform, in front of a big white building. She was smiling and looked happy. She was me.

"Did they say anything useful?"

"Something about her running away from her guardian. According to them, she had hallucinations about her guardian wanting to kill her."

"Yeah, right. Look at her. Does she look crazy to you?" Said Shohei.

"That's what we thought. And somehow they seem to think that she's trying to get in contact with the Silver King."

"Why would they think that?" Said Mr Kusanagi. "None the less it's a new lead for us."

The door suddenly flew open in a loud BANG. Yata came in panting. "Bad news guys! What's he doing here?"

"Bringing bad news. Talk Yata."

"I ran into some people in town. They were talking about two guys that asked them if they've seen a golden eyed girl around here."

That was about all I could take. Without any warning, strength abandoned my legs and I fell on all four. My heartbeat accelerated drastically. Even my teeth were chattering. I was trembling like a leaf in the wind. They'd found me. It was over.

"Taiga! Are you okay?" Asked Kosuke kneeling next to me.

Nothing was clear in my mind anymore. "They found me...I gotta leave..."

"Taiga." Said Mikoto.

The Red King crouched in front of me and placed a hand on my head. A small smile appeared on his face. "Hey. You don't have to run."

I looked up into the eyes of the Red King. They were so warm. The threat was so close and so big to me. But he just stood there smiling, reminding me that all of them would be my wall, no matter what. This made me feel so happy and so guilty, at the same times. Tears escaped my eyes and I shut them closed.

"I'm sorry."

I quickly rubbed my eyes and stood up. Mr Mikoto did the same. "Good girl. Black Dog. Tell your King and the other silver clansmen that they can't come near this girl or this place."

"Agreed. They will follow us around if they think she'll come to us."

"It still puzzles me." Continued Mr Kusanagi. "Why would they think Taiga is trying to get in contact with the Silver King?"

"I was wondering the same thing." Said a new voice.

Everyone looked at the door. A very pissed off looking Fushimi in civilian clothes holding a small computer was there. Next to him, was a certain Doctor Strain, in a long white coat.

"Hey guys." Saluted Ome. "Before you start eating each other, let me tell you that we're all here for the same thing. So, no fighting, okay?"

"We could've done this on the phone." Complained the blue clansman.

"No. Who knows if these guys are listening in on us?"

All the guys were giving off murderous vibes but they did nothing. Saruhiko put his small computer down on the counter and turned it on. A few files came up and then he turned to me. "I scanned your DNA. I found no match."

"Meaning?" Asked Eric.

"Meaning that she's not a criminal. Otherwise we would have found a match. And you never had your blood taken in a hospital or by a doctor. Which is weird for someone as old as you. My guess is, wherever you lived, you probably had a private doctor. Or you've never been sick in your life."

"That wouldn't surprise me." Said Mr Kusanagi. "You went to sleep with drenched clothes yesterday and you don't even have a cold."

Saruhiko rolled his eyes. "Tch. Anyways, other than that, I found traces of aura activity in your cells. The same traces we find in someone that spends a lot of time around people with supernatural power."

"Can't that be because of us?" Asked Shohei.

"No. It takes much longer to end up with those in your system. At least a year." Explained Ome.

"As for the connections with the Silver King, I figured there are none. He would remember her if they had a strong bond."

"What do you mean?"

"Let me finish. Remember that the body the Silver King is using is not his, but belongs to the previous Colorless King. Maybe it's with him that she has a connection."

"Great." Growled Yata. "In other words, we can't look that way because the guy is dead. Your info is pretty much useless, monkey."

"At least I've manage to get more info in three days than you have in three weeks, Misaki." Replied the blue clansman with a provocative smirk.

"Huh? Come say that to my face again! I dare you!" He snapped brandishing his fist.

"But it'd be bullying to fight the weak."

"Why you damn monkey!"

"Enough! We don't have time for petty arguments." Snapped Ome. "One more word out of either of you, and I'll rip out your vocal cords."

"Sup' with this her?" Muttered Yata to his fellow clansmen. "Chick's crazy."

"I heard that. Anyways, we need to find a safer place for Taiga to be right now."

"What're you talking about?" Said Yata. "She's not going anywhere."

"No offense, but you guys are not responsible enough to watch over her. If she's with you, her chances of getting hurt while being protected are pretty high."

"Hey!"

"If she's with me, I can see the guys coming from ten miles away. And my students can help."

"You haven't been able to track those guys down, since the white haired King asked you. What makes you think you'll see them come?" Said Saruhiko.

"What do you suggest? The silver clan is a no. Scepter 4? There are only three people who know about her there."

"You can talk. No one in the Strain Society knows either." He replied with his usual bored voice.

"Can I talk?" I suddenly said, annoyed. Everyone turned to me. "Look, Ome thanks for watching out for me. But I'm not leaving HOMRA."

She gave me a slightly surprised look before smiling. "Well, it's your call. I'll keep an eye out for you. And you guys better watch your fire. I will stitch your stomach and pancreas together if anything happens to her, Red King."

"Scary." Lazily replied Mr Mikoto.

Only a doctor could make that kind of threat. I really liked that spontaneous side of Ome. If she judged someone to have a good heart, she'd immediately call them friend. At least that's how I saw her.

"Also, you should try catching these guys. They could help me return Taiga's memory."

"I doubt they know her that well." Said Kuro. "These two are mercenaries."

"In any case, they can give us details on who is hunting her." Said Mr Kusanagi. "Starting tomorrow our priority is to find these guys."

"Be careful. They don't seem to be your average punk." Added Kuro.

"What's that suppose to mean Black Dog?" Growled Yata.

"I'm not even going to answer." He turned to me. "Take care of yourself."

"Thanks Kuro." He left.

"I should get going too." Said Ome. "I have four surgeries to perform at the hospital and then I have a training session with twenty four students. Later, Taiga."

"Yeah bye Ome."

"I'll call if I get a lock on these guys." She left.

The last one to leave (or not) was Saruhiko. He was scanning the picture Kuro had left. Then he quickly typed on his computer. The guys looked at him, like he was a nuisance.

"You can leave now you know?" Said Yata.

"Sorry, I'm too busy finding another lead, because you guys are idiots." He replied without taking his eyes of his computer.

"Alright, that's it! I'm throwing you out!" Mr Kusanagi grabbed Yata by the shirt to keep him from kicking Saruhiko out.

"Shut up Misaki. I'm trying to focus. There."

"What's that?" I asked.

"The names of the schools that have a uniform like the one in the picture."

"Wow you're amazing." I said.

"Not really. There are eight schools and they're all pretty far from Shizume. I sent it to your number." He said to Mr Kusanagi. He then closed his computer and stood up to leave.

"Saru, wait!" I said. "Can I talk to you?"

"Tch. Make it quick, I'm busy."

We stepped out in the street in front of the bar, while all the guys were watching from the window with murderous glares on their faces. "Tch. Idiots. Well, talk."

"Two things. First, did you find a connection between me and that weird traffic you guys are investigating? That is why you took my blood in the first place, right?"

"There wasn't enough traces to ID it. So unless you're willing to give me all your blood so I can have a complete sample, I can't tell."

The thought made me shiver. "No thank you. Second thing can you tell me what your deal is with the guys?"

"Let's just say I have issues with HOMRA."

"No. You have issues with Yata. You two were friends weren't you?"

"I don't have friends."

"When you lie, you avoid looking people in the eye. Yata does exactly the same thing."

"I don't get along with people who can't use their powers for something useful. Acting like punks all day, when you have the power to change the world is ridiculous. Unfortunately, the world is full of stupid people."

"By stupid people, you mean Yata. How would you have felt if he was the one that had left."

"I would have followed him. Since we've met Mikoto Suho, Misaki hasn't wished for anything else. And when HOMRA crumbles he'll have nothing left."

"So you're worried about him." I said smiling.

"Tch. Stop grinning like that, it's creepy. He can do whatever he wants. I'm not his mom."

"You seem to enjoy when you're fighting though. Don't deny it. I saw it on your face. And you're happy because despite the situation, you get to spend time with your friend. And you hate HOMRA because it's existence keeps Misaki 'trapped'. Tell me I'm wrong."

"Tch. Stop putting your nose everywhere. I'm leaving. Unlike some people, I have work to do."

"Okay. Bye Saru. Oh right, you mind me calling you that? Saruhiko's a little long."

"Whatever you want. It's not like I'll care." He said walking away.

'Just like you didn't care when you gave me the knife, huh Saru?' I thought. "Thanks for leads!" I called out. I wasn't expecting an answer, but without turning around, he lifted his hand. Maybe in annoyance, but I'll just pretend it's a 'bye' gesture. I went back inside.

"So what'd the monkey tell you?" Asked Yata.

I let out a laugh. "You know Yata you shouldn't stay mad at your friends for so long."

"Huh?" He said giving me a confused look.

"I'm gonna go check on Anna."

After preparing a cup of tisane with lemon and honey, I went upstairs and to Anna's room. Which was technically also my room. We slept in the same bed. I'd offered many times to sleep on the floor, but the young strain didn't want me to. I opened the door quietly. Anna opened her eyes.

"Taiga."

"Sorry, did I wake you up?"

She shook her head and sat up. I gave her the cup and she slowly drank from it. I also gave the medicine Mr Kusanagi had bought for her. She made a face when taking it.

"Haha. That bad, huh?"

She nodded and finished the cup. I put it down on the floor and checked her temperature. "Looks like your fever had dropped a little."

"I'm sorry."

"Huh? For what?"

"I'm sorry for being sick. I couldn't help you find Misaki or your memory. I'm sorry." She made a sad face and looked at the ground.

"Hey, don't apologize for catching a cold. It's alright, I found him anyways. So don't worry about it."

She grabbed my sleeve and pressed her head on my arm. "What's wrong?"

"You'll be careful, right?"

"Promise. And you're right, Anna. Mikoto has a lovely red."

"You have a pretty color too."

"Thanks." I didn't understand why she'd say that to me but it sounded like a compliment.

"Can you stay with me? Atchoo."

"Bless you. Sure. I don't think the guys will allow me to go out anyways." I Said as I laid myself on the bed, next to her. Anna held my hand and closed her eyes to go back to sleep. She was so cute. 'I really hope I have younger siblings like that.'

I was so happy, that so many people cared about me. But at the same time, it scared me. If I recovered my memory and have to go back with my family, I'd miss them horribly. That thought was just too much for me.

* * *

 **Unknown location**

"Sir, I'm sorry to bother you but we've lost another cargo. Scepter 4 wasn't far from tracking it back to us this time."

"I see. Oh, well. Give me some time before the next ship. I will handle it personally. You can leave."

"Yes, sir."

The phone on the desk rang. "Is that you Akihiko?"

"Yes sir. We found her."

"Excellent. Don't catch her right away though. Observe a little. Tell me how her life is without me around."

"Yes sir."

"Two more thing, Aki. Avoid collateral damage. Drawing attention to us right now is not wanted. Did I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, sir."

"Good. Second, make sure you're not too tender with her. So she understands. That's all. Good luck to you both." The man hung up and sighed, as he walked over to the window of his office. "Ah, my angel. I can't wait to see you."

* * *

 **Sorry if this chapter was a little boring, but next chapter is the one you've all been waiting for (don't even try to deny it you sick fans, you know you want to see the meeting between our dear Taiga and her hunters). Hope to see you soon. PLEASE REVIEW! ;)**


	9. Chapter 9 : Figures of forgotten past

**Hi guys! Here's chapter 9 where trouble starts for real. Wanna get to know the twins? You're gonna be served. ENJOY WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT!**

* * *

"Check mate. I win."

"Seriously? That's the fourth time in a row. This is crazy..." Complained Shohei.

"And embarrassing." Continued Eric. "You got beat four times in a row by an amnesiac who doesn't even remember if she ever played chess before."

"Shut up. I want a rematch!"

I fell back in my seat. "Can we please stop? My brain's hurting. I want to go outside."

"You know you can't go too far." Warned Yo.

"I've been locked up in here for two damn days guys, and it finally stopped raining. Can we at least go training?"

"What do you think Mr Kusanagi? The parking lot is really only a block away." Asked Masaomi.

"All right. But I want at least three people with her."

"Why three? There's only two of them."

"Two to keep them occupied, one to bring Taiga back just in case."

"I'm going." Said Yata.

"We're in too. Right Eric?" Said Kosuke.

The blond clansman nodded. Mr Kusanagi was about to say something again when his phone rang. "Yeah, what's up Mikoto? What? Alright, we'll be right there." He hung up before turning to us again. "The guys have just been spotted near Shizume shopping mall, five minutes ago. Mikoto wants everyone looking around. Yata, you stay here to watch over Taiga and Anna. No one out, get it?"

"Those bastards finally showed up, huh?" Growled the crow. "Give'm hell." He told his fellow clansman, fire glowing in his eyes.

"Like you have to tell us that." Replied Shohei.

"Don't beat'm unconscious though. I wanna give them a piece of my mind too..."

"Sure thing." Said Masaomi with a creepy smirk on his face.

* * *

For the next half hour, Yata stood by the door and didn't even blink while surveying the area. But it was all quiet. I was sitting in the couch, biting my nails off. Nothing moved, no one called, it was creepy quiet. But Yata never took his eyes off the street. It felt like hours of waiting to me. Every second passing was intensifying the already high level of stress I had. The ticking of Yata's cellwatch was driving me crazy, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him. The orange light of a start of sunset was now lighting the street. I felt super vulnerable. So much that I was curled up in the couch, as if my arms and legs could be a shield.

"Hey, you okay?" Suddenly asked Yata.

I opened my mouth to lie and reply yes, but nothing came out. He looked angry and clenched his fist as if he wanted to hit something. Then he looked out the window again.

"I'm gonna go check on Anna..." I said as I got up. But then my phone rang. It was Ome. I pressed the answer button. "Ome? Why are you calling?"

"...they're here..." She sounded like she was shocking on something and her breathing was extremely loud and deep, as if she was slowly suffocating.

"Ome?! What's wrong? Are you alright? Ome!"

"...they're here...the...ugh...the twins...Midorima... construction sight... they got me good..."

I felt my heart speed up. "Ome, are you injured? Where are you?"

"DON'T COME!" She shouted. Then I heard her cough violently, as if she was vomiting blood at the same time. "...they're going towards... Shizume center... call... Mikoto...Munakata..."

I heard a weird dropping sound and then nothing. Not even the end call beep. "Ome? Can you hear me? Ome?! OME!"

I got no reply. I just stood there staring at the virtual screen of my cell. I saw Yata call someone. Then someone else.

"Damn it! What the hell? Are all there phones turned off or what?" Cursed the red clansman.

"I think she's badly wounded. Yata, we have to go help her!"

"Mr Kusanagi said not to move from here."

"She could be badly hurt! We have to do something! She might die!"

"Tch. We can't send her an ambulance either. Most normal hospitals don't treat strains."

"I'll try calling the Society."

I tried calling the Strain Society while Yata was trying to reach other red clansmen. After four attempts, again no one answered. The line was occupied. Yata called everyone in the gang and didn't manage to reach any of them.

"What the fuck are they all doing at a time like this, damn it! Are they in walkie talkie mode?"

I couldn't take it anymore. I ran out and started dashing in the direction of the construction sight. Yata quickly caught up with me on his skateboard.

"Hey, where 'you going?"

"Where do you think I?" Replied without stopping. "Ome needs help, now!"

"Tch. Mister Kusanagi's gonna have my ass for that." He mumbled.

Yata grabbed my wrist and lifted my entire body in the air before catching me around the waist. I reflexively put my arms around his neck. He gave a strong kick on the ground with the help of his power. The skateboard's regular speed suddenly tripled, and we rode like that all the way to the construction sight. Yata stopped and dropped me in front of the big building in construction. A ten story building that had just finished the major construction. The first four floors seemed to be parking lots. We ran inside.

"Ome! Ome! Where are you?"

"Hey, mentalist weirdo!" Called out Yata.

We searched the two parking lots and found nothing. "This is crazy, where is she? We're never gonna find her in a huge place like this if she doesn't answer."

"I think she's passed out. I heard something fall when she stopped talking on the phone. Come on, let's go to the third parking."

Again we looked around until I stepped in a puddle. But it wasn't water. The liquid was thick and smelled of iron. It was blood and there was a trail of it going towards the staircase leading to the next floor.

"Yata..."

"What is …. what the?!"

He frowned and clenched his teeth when he saw the blood. We looked at each other before going up the stairs running. The trail of red liquid led to behind one of the huge pillars holding the ceiling. Behind it was a bigger puddle … but no one was here. Except something written with the blood on the pillar.

LOOK BEHIND YOU

Both of us turned around. Against the next pillar, was the the dead and bloody body of a cat. It's throat had been slit and it's pretty grey fur was now almost all soaked in blood. Above him was written another message, also with it's blood.

"Whose sick idea of a joke is this?" I muttered as I stared at the pillar, stunned.

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" Asked Yata while looking at it.

I read it out loud. "Roses are red, Violets are blue, You fell in my trap, Too bad for you. Apples are green, that is too true, I've readied chains..."

"... And now let me hunt you." Said a voice behind us. I felt my heart freeze in my chest, and goosebumps appearing all over my body. Yata and I both turned around fast. Against the first pillar, a man in his twenties with messy brown hair and sparkly blue eyes was leaning. A gun holster was attached on his leg. He was wearing dark brown pants and a same colored waistcoat over a white T-shirt. A scary smirk was decorating his face and he didn't blink as he stared straight at me, completely ignoring Yata.

"Sup Kitten? I've missed you."

I would've recognized this voice anywhere. Remember the feeling I had when I learned that they've been in contact with Shiro? Well, right now was a hundred times worse. I felt like my heart was trying to escape my chest. I couldn't feel or hear myself breath. Every inch of me was trembling, as a cold wind blew through the parking lot. I felt a sweat drop drip down from my forehead to my chin.

"That's a good look on your face. I was hoping I'd have that kind of effect on you when we found you. But honestly, why did you have to give us so much trouble?" He took a few steps forward and grabbed his gun. "It's not like I mind though. Just the thought of punishing you makes me drool with impatience."

Yata also took a step forward. "Hey, bastard. Why are you after her?"

He sighed. "Did you have to bring a third wheel, Kitten? Now, I'll have to get rid of him too."

"Why don't you come and try it, you son of a bitch?" Spat back the crow.

That's when I remembered there were two of them. Something then was heard flying swiftly and quickly through the air. And again I saw what would happen. An image of Yata's blood spilling appeared in my mind.

"YATA!" I yelled.

With a quick move, Yata seemed to punch the air while the flames of the red aura appeared in his hand. An object crashed into the pillar on which the man had been. It looked like a short katana sword. Whoever had thrown that must have had tremendous strength. The guy looked in the direction from which the blade had been thrown.

"You missed Aki. And not to complain or anything, but you almost impaled your little brother." He said as he took the weapon out of the wall with ease. And he threw it in the same direction. It was caught by someone we didn't even see approach. It was the mirror image of the first one. Except, his hair was longer and he was wearing a long coat. Another blade was sticking out from behind his back. Unlike the first one, Aki wasn't smiling.

"You would have dodged it and you know it, Keiji." He replied, before looking at me. Exactly as his brother had just done. I felt even more vulnerable. "We finally found you. It'd be wiser to tell your friend to back off. You know he doesn't stand a chance against us."

'These guys know me.' I thought. But that was all I was able to think. I was so scared I didn't even know if I could speak. But Yata then smirked.

"Who doesn't stand a chance? Do you even know who you're talking to, you freak? I'm Yatagarasu from HOMRA. My King's fire burns inside me and I'm gonna show you his power." He stopped smirking and gave them a murderous glare. "You won't even see it coming."

The one called Keiji whistled. "Not bad. You're a red clansman. So that's where you've been hiding. Wait until the boss hears about that."

"Taiga." Suddenly said Yata as he stepped in front of me. "Hide somewhere and try to call Mr Mikoto."

"What?" I said. "But..."

Before I could say anymore, the red clansman pushed me towards the way out so roughly that I fell on the ground.

"GO!" He yelled at me.

My body decided on it's own again and I stood and started running towards the door that led to the stairs. I opened it to find out that the stairs going down had all been destroyed. My only option was to go up, which is what I did. Keiji smirked again.

"Can I have her Aki? Pretty please?"

"Remember the orders. No serious injuries. Don't screw up like last time."

"That's gonna be hard if she keeps running away." The younger twin said before starting to head towards the stairs. But then a ball of fire exploded in front of them.

"Shut the hell up and keep your eyes on me!" Shouted Yata. "I'm gonna turn you both into nothing. No blood, no bone, no ash."

"Too bad for you, it's a century too early for you to beat me." Said the oldest twin as he drew both his swords. He threw himself on Yata who dodged him with difficulty and nearly got decapitated with the first strike. The red clansman soon found himself covered in scratches.

* * *

I ran up all the way up to the last floor and hid behind a wall to catch my breath. I turned on my cell to call Mr Kusanagi. 'Come on please answer!' I was about to press the call button when a gunshot was fired and my bracelet exploded in pieces off my wrist. Keiji was standing in the doorway still holding me at gunpoint.

"Sorry, Kitten. Can't let you do that. You wouldn't want to ruin our reunion together, would you?"

"Where is Ome?" I suddenly asked, as I backed up into the wall as far as I could from him.

"Ome? You mean the Strain? There's no need for you to be so anxious. We just made sure she wouldn't be interfering. She's currently taking a nap in her office. Besides, you really should worry about yourself."

He started walking towards me. I was about to make a run for it, but two more bullets planted themselves into the wall right next to my head, on each side. I froze again.

"I wouldn't try if I were you. I can shoot your legs faster than you can even think about making a move." He got so close that his chest was almost touching me. Then he placed his gun right under my chin, I shut my eyes in fear. "Are you scared? If you don't answer me, I might shoot."

"You're suppose to take me alive." I cursed my voice for trembling like that.

"Now that's new. You never talked back before. Has hanging out with your new friends given you an ounce of bravery? It's not bad. You're right, I'm not aloud kill you and I won't. However..." He pulled the gun away from chin to press in against my stomach, hard enough for me to feel sick. "I don't have a problem with disabling you... temporarily of course." He looked at me with hungry eyes, while my I felt fear chocking me.

"Well, Kitten? Are you coming quietly? Or would you rather travel with a bullet in between the ribs?"

Again my body moved on it's own. I looked behind him and my eyes widened. "Yata!" Just as I'd hoped, he turned around to look at the door. And that was all I needed to punch his gun away from me, and throw my elbow in his stomach with full force. More surprised than hurt, the mercenary fell on his back and I dashed back towards the staircase and went up to the roof. I looked over the edge of the four corners. There was no way for me to escape. Except jumping to my death. I had no phone. The place was deserted, so no one could hear me. Yata was fighting someone.

"You know, I'm starting to get annoyed." Keiji walked onto the roof, this time his smirk was gone and he looked angry.

I plunged my hand in my pocket and took out Saru's knife and got to a fighting stance. "Stay back."

He chuckled. "Really, Kitten? You want to challenge me to a knife fight? You know you're going to loose... Why don't you just give in? Be a good girl and we'll be nice with you."

"I'd rather die..." I muttered, but it was loud enough for him to hear.

"Oh well. Aki's not done yet so I might as well play with you a little longer..." He put his gun back in his holster and took a couple steps closer. "Go ahead. Try and kill me if you can."

He just stood there. No fighting stance, arms wide open. Telling me that I didn't stand a chance even if I was the one with the knife. I tightened my grip on the weapon and didn't move. I was trying to predict his movements, but that turned out to be impossible. So I just stayed still and looked at him in the eyes. He smiled again.

"If you're not coming, I am."

He started walking again towards me. I instinctively started backing up until I felt the small two feet high wall that kept me from going any further, but he still kept coming. I remembered something Kosuke had said during training.

" _You can't let whoever you're fighting back you into a corner. While you have space to fight, use all of it."_

I bit my lower lip until it bled to get a minimum of fear out of my system, before I dashed towards Keiji. I sliced the knife in the air with the intention of hitting him in the face. But the man easily dodged me. I threw myself on him a couple times, trying to hit him wherever I could, but I couldn't get a scratch on him. He was dodging without even trying. All he did was step out of my reach every time.

"Not bad Kitten, your moves are a lot more spontaneous and swifter than before. However..." This time he grabbed my wrist of the hand holding the knife, twisted it and pulled my hand so high up that I had to stand on my tip toes to keep myself in contact with the ground. I grunted in pain as he brought his face closer to mine. "You're still a long way from being good enough to land a hit on me."

Again, my mind took me back to my time of training with the guys. Lesson number three of street fighting, don't expect a fair fight and be ready to play dirty. Use tricks. Yo had been the one to teach me that. I brought my free hand behind my back as I opened my other hand and dropped the knife. The second the handle landed in my free hand, I swung my arm and stabbed him in the shoulder. This time, he flinched and even grunted. But he didn't let go off me.

"Now that hurts. You know something? When you start a fight, you gotta be ready to get hurt in return."

Before I even had a chance to get to understand what he was saying, I received his knee in the stomach. His strength was unbelievable. That kick not only cut of my breath but sent me flying. I rolled on the ground until my back hit the small wall. The impact sent a horrible sensation throughout my body. My head had taken a nasty hit and my vision was starting to get blurry. It was like my whole energy had been drain. I could barely move. Keiji took the knife out of his shoulder and dropped it on the ground before coming towards me and crouching down next to me. His scary smile was back.

"Since when are you so crazy, Kitten? Has hanging out with these guys for a month turn you like this? Like I said, it's not bad but you shouldn't be so reckless. I'd rather not break you and send you to the hospital again."

He was so close and I was so powerless. My body trembled again and I felt a couple tears escaped my eyes. I'd lost. I couldn't defend myself or even run anymore.

"What's the matter, Kitten? Does it hurt? Or are you scared maybe?" He wiped a tear off my face with his thumb and licked it. "Next time, maybe you'll think twice before running from us. But don't worry. We'll take good care of you."

"Yata..." I whispered almost inaudibly.

"Are you calling for your bodyguard now? Don't get your hopes up too much. You know he doesn't stand a chance against Aki."

A second after he said that, something pierced the ground and landed on the roof. It was Yata. The fire aura surrounding him died out and he remained on the ground, unconscious. He had multiple cuts everywhere on his body and his white shirt was stained with blood.

"Yata!" I forced myself to move and started crawling towards him, praying heaven that he was still alive. But Keiji stood up and stepped on my back, keeping me from going any further. I still desperately tried to reach out to him. "Yata!"

The long haired twin came out from the hole made by Yata and landed on the roof.

"You sure took your time, bro." Said Keiji.

"He was persistent. Did you at least call the helicopter while I was dealing with him?"

"I was having so much fun with the little cat, it sort of escaped my mind..."

The older twin sighed. "You're unbelievable." He took a phone out of his jacket and made a call. "We're done here. Hurry up and come get us." He hung up.

"What now Aki?"

"Nothing, we wait."

"I mean about him." He said pointing at Yata. "He got a good look at us. Shouldn't we get rid of him?"

"The boss said no collateral damage."

"That's not collateral damage. That's threat disposal."

"NO!" I shouted. "Don't hurt him! Please, don't hurt him!"

"What's that? You like him, Kitten? Even more reason to kill him."

"Please, no." I begged.

"What do you have for us if we do let him leave?" Teased the mercenary. "I won't say no to a kiss."

A helicopter suddenly appeared in the sky and got closer. It got closer to the roof and hovered over it, waiting for the mercenaries.

"Oh, well. With these kind of cuts he'll die of blood loose soon enough, anyways." Said Keiji before pulling me up. I felt like I was a rag doll. I couldn't even hold myself up on my own. It was as if my back was in pieces. The long haired twin approached us and took a syringe out of his jacket. He grabbed my hair and pulled my hair back to expose my neck to him.

"You're a real pain to take care of, you know that?" He said. "At least this'll keep you quiet."

Without any delicacy, he mercilessly stabbed my neck with the syringe's needle. I let out a surprised/painful gasp, but my body immediately started to feel numb. Every sensation in my body abandoned me. Keiji picked me up bridal style. "This sight is just giving me...ideas." He said with the eyes of a tiger on it's prey.

"Stop fooling around. Let's go."

The two mercenaries walked towards the helicopter. My consciousness, unlike my strength, was only very slowly fading away, and I had time to see Yata one more time. Once inside the chopper, Keiji laid my powerless body on one of the benches.

"Comfortable enough Kitten? You should sleep. You're gonna need it."

"Who... are you?" I asked.

The two of them looked at me with surprised faces. "What did you say?"

"Who are you? Why are you after me?" I didn't even hear myself ask that last question. My eyes closed and darkness swallowed me.

'Yata, please don't die.' Was my last thought.

* * *

 **CLIFFHANGER! I'm not even gonna give you a hint for the next chapter, cause that's when the bad guy finally reveals...*cough,cough* never mind. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	10. Chapter 10 : Enemy and Identity

**Hey guys! It's been a while, sorry for the delay. Without further useless words, please read with all your might. Enjoy!**

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I was in a small windowless room. A single light bulb was lighting the room. I had no idea what time it was. I was lying on a stone bench attached to the wall. When I sat up, a sharp pain manifested itself in my stomach. My shoes and my sweatshirt were on the ground. I lifted the bottom of my tank top to uncover my stomach. I had a medical band around my ribs, another around my arm and a big bandage on my cheek. I also had a fair share of bruises all over. To top it all off, my hands were linked together by shackles with a two feet long chain. The door was made of heavy metal and there was no lock to pick. The only thing that led out was the tiny air vent on the ceiling. I shoved the cover aside and tried to stand up...only to fall right back down. My legs were still a little numb and my head was spinning. But I had to get up. I had to get up and find a way to get out. Then I heard a metallic noise outside the door before it opened. The short haired twin entered.

"I see that you're awake. How'd you sleep, Kitten?"

I looked at him with a worried look and didn't reply. He approached me and came to sit on the edge of my 'bed'. I immediately backed off against the wall.

"What's the matter? Are you scared?"

"..."

"Giving me the silent treatment ins't going to get any of us anywhere, Kitten. So why don't you save yourself some extra bruises and talk to me while we wait for Aki."

This guy meant every word he said. And I didn't want to be knocked unconscious again. "Why should I talk to you?" I said looking away.

"Ah, finally said something. You are scared, aren't you, little cat?"

He brought his hand close to my face and I quickly slapped it away. "Don't touch me. And why do you keep calling me that?" My voice was trembling and I didn't want to look at him.

"Why? That's a silly question, Kitten. That's because I'm the boss's good dog, while you're the naughty little cat. But if you don't like it, what should I call you then? Princess maybe?"

"My name is Taiga." I snapped, before realizing that this guy probably knew my real name.

"Taiga? Seriously, that's what you call yourself now? That's not very creative. But whatever. Well then Miss Taiga. Aren't you going to thank me for bandaging your wounds for you?"

"Huh?"

"I had a lot of fun striping you and touching you all over, while you were drugged. And I have to say, seeing you in chains is a little exciting." My face turned completely red out of shame and I clenched my teeth with frustration. He suddenly grabbed my chain and pulled me closer to him. "Just kidding. Although I did bandage you. So how about a little reward, now?"

"Let go off me!" I shouted as I tried to pull away, but his grip was too strong. He brought his face closer to my neck... Then the door suddenly opened.

"Kei! Stop fooling around." Said Aki. "Do you want the boss to kill you?"

"Oh come on. It's not like he'll mind if I don't leave a mark." Complained the younger twin while letting me go. I used that moment to send my foot flying in his face and he fell off the bench. But he soon got up.

"Well, well. Looks like you've grew some guts while we weren't here." He commented with a smirk while rubbing his chin.

"Who are you people?"

Again they gave me a surprised look. Then Akihiko said. "So you really have lost your memory. We'll have to inform the boss of this."

"You guys know me, right?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"What's my name? My real name. And who is this boss that you keep talking about? He's the one after me isn't he? Is he?"

"You've gotten sharper." Said Keiji. "Sorry but only the boss can answer your questions. But that doesn't keep us from introducing ourselves. Right, Aki?"

"I suppose not." The older twin turned to me. "My name is Akihiko Inukai."

"And I'm Keiji Inukai. Nice to meet you again, little cat. And in case you didn't notice, we're twins."

"We were tasked by the master to bring you back after you escaped. You sure are a troublesome girl to track."

"Why was I running from him? Who is he?"

"He'll tell you himself. The only other thing that you should know, is that you belong to the same circle as us."

"What do you mean?"

"Okay, enough the boring stuff already. Can I play with her, Aki?"

"Sure, if you don't mind getting beheaded afterwards."

"We won't have to tell him. Besides, bro. You know you want it as much as I do. You're just too stubborn to admit it."

"Tch. You're an idiot." Replied the long haired twin. But he still looked at me from the corner of the eye. No matter how different their personalities were, their eyes were exactly the same. And they were looking at me like a wolf would be looking at a rabbit. I felt a drop of sweat fall from my forehead.

"How about it, Kitten?" Continued Keiji. "Want some twin action?"

At that point, I was more than freaking out. "You're twisted..." Was all I manage to say.

"Thanks for the compliment."

"Enough!" Finally said Akihiko. "We have work to do. Come on." He grabbed his younger brother by the arm and started dragging him out. He pushed him out before turning back to me one last time.

"You better get ready. The master will want to see you soon. Also, you shouldn't even hope for rescue. The red clansman is probably dead by now and the others will never find you here."

His words made my heart ache. The mercenary walked out. I curled up in the corner and buried my face in my arms. 'He can't be dead. He just can't be. He's Yata! He's too stubborn to die.' I was praying with all my heart that I was right. I crossed my arms on my chest. I'd never trembled as much as in this moment.

* * *

 **HOMRA bar**

The red clan was back inside their HQ, after an entire night of looking through the city for Taiga and Yata. Even the Red King was fully awaken and nervously growling from time to time.

"This is ridiculous! Where are they?" Shouted Shohei, while kicking a chair.

"I think it's obvious the mercenaries came to get Taiga." Said Mr Kusanagi. "That info about them being near the center of Shizume was bogus. They wanted to get us away from Taiga. That trick with our phones not working must have been their doing as well."

"But if they'd come here, wouldn't the bar be pretty much destroyed? Yata wouldn't have gone down without a fight." Said Rikio.

"They were lured outside, that's for sure but how?" Said Mikoto.

"I think I can tell you that." Said a new voice coming from the entrance.

The red clansmen looked at the door. In the frame, Ome was standing. She walked in. "Those bastards came to see me and knocked me out with some kind of drug. It put me to sleep for ten hours. I didn't even see them coming. And they stole my phone."

"Can't you find it with your foresight?" Asked Eric.

"I can only look for people not objects. And it has to be in a ten mile radius. If I can't find them, then they're either out of my sight range, using some kind of aura to hide or dead. Taiga has no aura so she's either dead or out of my range. Option number two is the most probable."

"And Anna is still too sick to help." Muttered Mr Kusanagi. "Damn it."

"Perhaps I can be of assistance."

Once more, every turned to look at the door. Two people, a man and a woman in blue uniforms were standing in the doorway.

"That's a surprise, Munakata." Said Mikoto. "I didn't think you'd bother yourself with insignificant events."

The blue King smiled and readjusted his glasses. "As a matter of fact, Suho, this may not be completely unrelated to our current business. And you know how thorough I am when I look into a lead."

"Fushimi shared with us the information he got from you about this girl. And we found out something interesting concerning her tattoo." Said Seiri.

* * *

 **Unknown location**

A couple hours later, Akihiko came to get me in my cell and made me take an elevator with him. When we stepped out, it seemed like the place was a magnificent palace. Even bigger than Scepter 4 HQ. It was eighteenth century european styled. Paintings, carpets, structure... Everything was gorgeous and breathtaking. But it was also completely empty. We didn't come across anyone while walking through the giant hallways. I took a look outside. There was a big court around the property, and beyond the gate, I could see nothing but trees. As if a giant forest was surrounding it. Akihiko was dragging me behind him, yanking my chain whenever I was too slow.

"Can you tell me where we are?" I asked.

"The master's mansion."

Compared to his brother, this guy was a lot more serious when it came to business. But he was just as scary from my point of vu. If he was able to tell someone like Keiji off, he must be very strong. I didn't want to find out more. The more I saw of this place the more I wanted to run and hide. The last thing in the world that I wanted was to meet this boss. This person that was able to scare me even though I didn't know who he was or what he looked like. I felt my heart freeze in my chest and suddenly stopped. Akihiko, turned around surprised.

"What's the matter? If you keep pulling like that, I'm gonna have to carry you."

"Don't..." I said.

"Huh?"

"Don't take me there...please... I don't want to know him..."

I couldn't even look at him. My heart was racing and I could feel sweat form on my forehead. My eyes were wide open and I was shaking all over. Even if I wanted to, I don't think my body could have moved. The thought of taking him on didn't even cross my mind. I knew I would loose if I tried. The mercenary just stood there and stared at me for a long minute. Then he came closer and gently grabbed my chin to make me look at him. His face was neutral but his eyes seemed to be almost sad.

"If you make that face, I might just take my brother's advice."

That comment made me push his hand away, even more on edge than before. He gave me one last look before turning around and pulling on my chain again. "Come." He said.

I followed without saying anything. We went up some marble stairs and he led me through another hallway until we reached a white double door. Akihiko pushed it open and pulled me inside. On one side of the room had a big desk and shelves while the other had a small living room, with a low tea table surrounded by couches and elegant chairs. The colors in the room were very sober. Mostly white with beige and very light lavender decorations. The two giant windows let in the light of the day brightening the room. But the sky was covered in white clouds and so the whole thing felt more sad than anything else. And worst of all, this room was giving off something familiar... and awfully unpleasant. And my heart wasn't slowing down.

"You wait here. The master will come soon. And don't try to escape. Even if you could get out of the property, there's no way you'd find your way in the forest." He stated with his neutral voice.

I could barely hear anymore. The only thing reaching my ears were the loud beating of my heart and my thoughts going around in my mind so fast, that I wanted to puke. I felt Akihiko grab my hand and make me sit in one of the couches. Tears started to form in my eyes. Like my fear couldn't be contained inside me anymore and was physically manifesting itself. I couldn't control my fear. And I was this close to having a heart attack. There was something in this place. Something strong, like an invisible chain tying me down so much that I could barely move. The mercenary suddenly cupped my cheeks with one hand and leaned in very close.

"I told you to stop making that face."

He slowly brought his face closer and I shut my eyes and mouth tightly. I felt his lips press on mine for three seconds before he backed off.

"You're making it really hard to resist. You wicked girl. You'll be the death of me and my brother." He whispered, as if he was cursing me.

Then he stood up and quickly walked over to the door. He opened it and before leaving said. "Remember what I told you. The master might not let you live if you escape again."

With that, he left. I didn't even hear the door get locked from the outside. What was it with those guys? Why were they both trying to... eat me? It's like everything here was trying to consume me completely. I looked around. There were only two way out. The door or the windows. I got up and approached to take a look outside. The court was pretty big and about three hundred meters away from the house, was a tower. It looked like some kind of modern office buildings in the city except it wasn't as high. It was somehow ominous. Just like everything here. Everything here felt familiar and poisonous. I wanted to leave. I had to try. I walked towards the door and was about to grab the handle when it opened. My heart skipped a beat and I quickly stepped back. When that man stepped into the room, I thought my heart was gonna stop for good. He was young. Twenty five at the most. He had beautiful straight dark brown hair that fell mid-neck. He had a tall and thin body. The kind that would make you believe he was fragile. He was wearing a white shirt not completely buttoned, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, as well as black pants and brown shoes. His skin was incredibly pale and his eyes were light grey. He was wearing an expression of surprise when he saw me. I was probably giving him a frightened expression. I could feel it so strongly now. This man was dangerous. Then he suddenly had a relieved smile and he even looked like he was about to cry.

"You're back." He walked towards me with fast steps. Even more terrified than before I took as step back. The man threw his arms around me and squeezed me into a tight hug. I was frozen and shaking more than ever. "Thank heaven, you're back. I was so worried, my Yoru."

He didn't let go for what seemed to be an eternity for me. He wasn't crushing me but I felt like I was choking. My shaking wasn't calming down at all. I was letting out short suffocated breaths. When he finally let me go, I let myself fall on the couch and retreated to the far end, unable to say anything. He sat next to me, and brought his hand up to my face and caressed my cheek.

"You're shaking so much. Are you cold? Let me warm you up a little..."

"Stay away!" I suddenly shouted.

He gave me another surprised look before smiling sweetly again. "With your memory loss, it must be like getting hugged by a complete stranger, isn't it?"

"I know you were the one after me."

"Of course I was. I was trying to bring you home, my little Yoru. After all this is where you live."

"What? No that can't be."

"You've lost your memory, you can't possibly know. My name is Ryu Karasuno. And I, sweet Yoru, happen to be your guardian."

My eyes widened in disbelief. "You're lying..."

"Why would I lie to you? I can show you the legal papers if you want." He took something out of this pocket. "But this should be sufficient proof."

It was a photograph. Both of us were on it. I was wearing school gym clothes and he was carrying me on his back. I was smiling in this picture. I looked happy. But it was wrong. That picture was wrong. I couldn't be happy. Not next to someone like him. I shook my head.

"I have plenty of pictures to show you if this one is not sufficient. You were such a sweet and obedient girl before." His smile was scary now. It was sadistic smirk. "Why don't you believe me?"

"What kind of guardian sends hired mercenaries to retrieve a lost kid instead of the police?"

"Mercenaries? Where did you get that idea? I know you don't remember them but still..." He laughed. "Akihiko and Keiji work for me, little Yoru."

"Huh?"

"They have for years now. I knew you'd be trying to hide from me, so I couldn't leave this in the incapable hands of the police. I have professionals, I might as well use them."

"They attacked my friend! They nearly killed him!"

"Don't get so worked up over small details. I did tell them to bring you back by all means necessary. If someone got in their way, it's only natural that they got rid of him."

"You're insane!"

"You're right. I probably am insane when it comes to you." He got closer. "In any case, I finally retrieved you and I won't let you run away again. I'm having a hard time figuring out how you manage to run in the first place, my Yoru. If only you'd been a good girl and did what you were told as usual..." He grabbed my chin. "...I wouldn't have to punish you like this."

I froze up. "W-what are...?"

He placed a finger on my mouth. "Shh. You've always been such a good girl, so I never had to tell you this. But I really don't tolerate disobedience from things that belong to me."

"I...don't belong to anyone." I said with as much determination as I could.

"But you do, my Yoru. You're mine." He slid his thumb on my cheek. Then he trailed two fingers across my stomach in diagonal. He then grabbed my shoulders, he slid his hands down my arms gently. It was as if he wanted to caress my entire body. He also trailed his hand on my back. A couple seconds went by where he just stared at me with the same scary smirk as before. Then, something seemed to lit up his eyes. That's when, all at once, I felt my flesh being torn in every places he touched me. It was like extremely sharp knifes had cut me all at once. I let out an intense scream of pain.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

I fell face first on the ground. Blood escaped my body and stained the couch and my clothes. They too had been torn where the 'knifes' had cut me. The thick red liquid stained the carpet on the floor. The cuts felt so deep that I was afraid they'd touched vital organs. I was panting harder than ever thinking I was on the edge of death. It felt like no air was reaching my lungs and that I was paralyzed. An ocean of tears escaped my eyes, mixing itself with the blood on the ground. Ryu got off the couch and knelt down next to me.

"There, there, love." He said as he wiped the tears from my face. "The wounds are only superficial, you'll live. But I have to say I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd still be conscious after this."

"How did you... Who are you?" I said in between suffocated breaths.

"Oh, that's right. You don't remember my little tricks. Allow me to reintroduce myself properly to you, my angel. I am Ryu Karasuno ...

* * *

 **HOMRA bar**

"THE PURPLE KING?!" Shouted all the red clansman.

"No need to shout, boys." Said the Blue King. "But yes, the symbol that was tattooed in the young lady's back is none other than the stigma of the purple clan."

"But it was black. It had no aura coloring." Said Shohei.

"Not only that, but I didn't sense any aura from her. She's not a clansman. But these two guys probably were." Continued Ome. "It must have been a regular tattoo, just to symbolize her affiliation, I guess. But if she was frequently in contact with clansmen, that would explain the traces of aura in her cells. That's bothersome."

"Why?" Asked Yo.

"If she wasn't a clansmen, what was she to them? I don't even want to try and imagine. In any case, the one that was after her from the beginning must have been him. Munakata, what do we know about the purple king?"

"He's very secretive and not very active. His name is Ryu Karasuno. At first glance he's a rich boy that lives off his heritage but he's also an extremely brilliant scientist. That's how he ended up at the top of my list of suspect for this aura capsules trafficking."

"Do we know where he is?"

"Unfortunately, no. I was counting on your foresight."

"I told you, they're out of range. Where's Fushimi? He might have an idea."

"He's been missing since yesterday." Answered the lieutenant. "We haven't been able to get a lock on him."

Ome punched the counter. "Great. So we have no clue about anything. Damn it!"

"I can help..." Then said a quiet voice, coming from the staircase.

Anna was slowly coming down the stairs. She wasn't exactly walking straight. "Anna, you shouldn't be up. You're still sick." Said Mr Kusanagi.

"We have to find Taiga." With those words she walked over to Ome. "You and me, we can find her."

"It's true that we have similar powers, but I'd have to absorb your power along. I'm not sure you or me will be able to take it. And you're already weakened."

"We have to."

The young strain brought her hand up. Ome seemed distressed for a second before bringing her hand up and taking out her claws. She hesitated and made a disapproving face.

"Please. For Taiga. I want her to come home." Said the little girl. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "And Misaki. And Saruhiko. I want all of them to come home."

Ome looked at the red King who gave her a nod. She then took a deep breath before grabbing the younger strain's hand, and stabbing her thumb claw in the middle of her palm.

* * *

 **Oh dear, looks like trouble is just starting for our dear Taiga. And where the hell could Yata and Saru be? Stay tuned to find out! PLEASE REVIEW! ;)**


	11. Chapter 11 : Hints and Hero

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the delay! I beg your forgiveness and hope with all my heart that you will enjoy the next chapter! We might just find things out about our dear Taiga!**

* * *

When I woke up again, I was laying in a bed. I didn't even remember passing out. Again. There was a clock on my bed indicating 5:00pm I sat up and looked around while remembering the events of the day before. I looked at my arms. Long, thin scars were going down my arms. The guy was right, they were only superficial. But the pain I felt was all too real. The room was very elegantly decorated. On one side, there was the bed and on the wall facing it, A wardrobe, a work desk and a mirror hanging from the wall. On my left was the door, probably locked, and on the wall facing it was the window. A big window going from the floor and almost to the ceiling. I could see the entire front courtyard. When I got off the bed, I realized a long chain was attached to my ankle and kept me linked to the bed. But it was long enough for me to walk around the room. I walked over to the mirror and looked at myself. I was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. I uncovered my stomach and looked at the two thin lines going across it. 'This guy's power is horribly precise. He cut my skin without even so much as scratching my shirt. I didn't even see his aura...' The aura of the red clan was visible from a mile away. I remembered his words from yesterday. 'It has to be a lie. He can't be my guardian. He's just trying to take advantage of the fact that I have amnesia.' I tried to convince myself. I went over to the wardrobe and opened it. As I feared, I found the uniform from the photo. All the clothes in there did seem to be my size. I looked through it, and then through the drawers. They were ordinary, teenage girl clothes. I sighed and closed it. I moved on to the desk and opened the drawers. I found old report cards, and graded papers. Judging from the grades, I was an average B student. Except in languages. It seemed that in Japanese, English, Spanish and optional French, my grades were top. It's weird, seeing that I don't even remember being able to speak anything other than Japanese. Other than that, I found textbooks, some pens, rulers and other school stuff. In the second drawer however, there were two scrapbooks. I took them out and looked through the first one. The pictures all had a girl with golden eyes on them. From 1st grade to 12th grade. Some were school photos, others had other people in them, mostly girls. Under each photo, were the names of the people in it. In almost all the pictures, I could see two girls always there. Saki and Juli. I also found one photo of the two of them and the girl with golden eyes with BEST FRIENDS FOREVER written on top with bright colors. 'These girls must be really good friends.' I kept looking at through the album. I also found pictures of the golden eyed girl in a leotard, in various gym exercises. I looked over to the shelf next to the window, where some trophies and medals were placed. 'I must've been pretty good.' I kept looking when I found a picture of a younger looking Ryuu and the golden eyes girl. Side by side in front of what looked like a school building and both in uniforms. The more I looked at it, the more it seemed unbelievable that this girl was me. I couldn't believe that I was close to a man like him. It just couldn't be. But their was more than one picture of the two of us together. And in all of those, I looked like I was the happiest girl in the world. And that just couldn't be right. I shut my eyes and closed the album. 'Maybe... I really am this girl. I mean let's face it how many girls have golden eyes? Maybe the reason I ran away was because I discovered how he really was. He does come across as being manipulative.' Shivers travelled down my spine as I remembered his hungry eyes. I shook my head to try and forget. Then my eyes fell on the second album. I opened it. On the first page, there was only a single photo. A young woman in front of a small house, carrying a two or three year old girl with golden eyes in her arm. On the bottom, there was a small inscription.

 _To my adorable Yoru with all my love, mom._

The woman on the photo had dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. Her smile was unbelievably sweet. I suddenly felt like something broke inside me and I felt a tear fall out of my right eye. 'What's wrong with me?' I thought. 'Why am I crying?'

"Looks like you found it." Said a familiar and very unwelcomed voice behind me.

I let out a surprised sound and quickly turned around, unintentionally knocking the albums to the ground. I backed up against the wardrobe. I didn't even hear him come in. He gave me a seductive smile as if he was enjoying my reaction. "Good morning my Yoru. I hope you slept well."

All I could do was stare back and gulp. He looked at the ground and then knelt to pick up the album I was just looking at. "I see that you found your mother."

"Huh?"

"The woman in those pictures is Kyoko Tachibana. She's your mother. Unfortunately she passed away a year after you and I met. You didn't have any other family so, I offered to take you in and you accepted."

"Why should I believe you? Why should I believe anything you tell me?" My voice was trembling.

"What reason would I have for lying to you?"

"You're trying to make me believe lies."

"I couldn't possibly have guessed that you lost you memory. Even Keiji and Akihiko didn't know. I wouldn't have had the time to plant false evidence like this room. Or those pictures. Do you so fiercely want to fight the truth Yoru? I can give it to you. I know you better than anyone."

"You're lying." I said. "I know you're lying."

"Oh, my sweet Yoru." He sighed and shook his head, never stopping to smile. "So stubborn. It's so hard to change your mind once it's made up."

He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge of it. "Won't you come sit with me?"

"No."

"You know, standing a few meters away from me doesn't change much. I can cut you just as easily from where I'm standing. And yes, it is a threat." With a sign of the head, he once more 'encouraged' me to join him. I clenched my teeth, and came closer. The last thing I wanted was to feel that pain again. I sat a whole meter away from him and turned my head away. He leaned towards me and practically whispered.

"So, why don't you tell me why you don't believe me?"

"These photos... they're all lies."

"Because they show how happy you were with me before? You can't stand the fact to know that you felt happiness?"

"It's not that at all! I don't believe I can be close to someone like you, it's not possible."

I felt his hair brush the skin of my neck as he leaned even closer. That sent shivers down my spine again. He chuckled.

"Do you believe that you're such a good person that you wouldn't be close to me? Well you always were such a good girl."

"Why did I run away? What did I see? Why did I hear?" I suddenly asked.

"Akihiko is right. You have gotten sharper."

"So there was a reason for me to run..."

"Of course. But telling you would only make things more difficult for me."

"Then what you're doing has nothing to do with me?"

"No. You're here because you have something I want. Well, some things really."

I gulped, worried about the next answer he was going to give me. "What is it?"

I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders like a python getting ready to strangle his prey. Only his grip didn't seem strong as he gently pulled me closer. I felt his chest press against my back and froze. My heart and head were screaming for me to fight and run. This guy was so strange. He had the body of a really weak and sick person, but behind his false nice guy facade, he hid the power of a King. The ambiguity was rubbing off on me. One side of me desperately wanted to fight and get away, while another wanted to stay and learn the truth. Because no matter what I thought, this guy did hold the truth, or at least part of it. That thought paralyzed my voice. I bit my lips. He brought one hand up and placed two fingers under my eyes.

"Those."

"M-my eyes?" I said, confused.

"Don't worry, I'm not some sort of rarity collector. But don't get me wrong, I love your eyes so much I see them in my dreams."

"Why don't you just take them and leave me alone?" I snapped, terrified.

"Is that what you want me to do? Do you hate me so much that you'd give up your eyes to me? Oh well, if that's what you wish I suppose I can comply."

I instantly cursed myself for having asked that. He brought two fingers together and some sort of purple aura surrounded it. Visually it wasn't impressive at all. But I knew damn well that if he came anywhere near my face, he'd rip it to shreds. I was frozen. I closed my eyes shut when he brought them closer to my eye.

"Stop!"

I felt his hand make contact with my eyelid... but nothing happened. I turned my head to look at him. "You didn't think I was seriously going to take your eyes out of you, did you?" He looked at the terrified expression in my eyes and then chuckled softly before hugging me a little tighter. "I'm sorry for scaring you. I didn't think you'd freeze like that though."

I clenched my teeth together, frustrated at myself. "Let go off me."

To my surprise he did let go. I turned around and faced him, giving him an angry glare. He still had that sweet smile.

"Now that you've calmed down a bit, how about you let me tell you a bit about yourself?"

"I still think you're a liar." I said.

"You're in denial and you know it, Yoru." He said. He placed a finger under my chin to lift my head up a bit. "Let's see, how could I convince you?"

"You won't, don't even try!" I said turning my head away. The truth was that I really wanted to hear what he had to say.

"I can tell you I know you're an outstanding gymnast and you've won a lot of competitions."

"Anything connected to this room doesn't count." I said.

He laughed as if it was a game. "Alright. You have an unusually good intuition. When you guess something you're almost always right."

I froze. That wasn't something you could just know about someone. You had to see it to believe it. It was true. The times I helped, Yo, Saru, Yata... I'd always guessed right what was going to happen.

"You hate spicy food. You're terrified of snakes. You're very protective of your friends and people around you. When someone is down, you stay by their side until they recover. You have this weird habit, when you're embarrassed or lying. You click your thumbnails on your teeth before twisting a lock of your hair around your finger and look from one side of the room to the other as if searching for an exit."

My mouth dropped open and I stared at him, completely stunned. Those are all things that I'd rediscovered while hanging out with the Red Clan. He didn't stop there.

"You were born on January 14th, you're 1, 59 meters, your blood type is O positive. In clothes, you prefer comfort over style. You have allergic reactions to venomous bug stings. You grew up without a father and you have no siblings. Should I continue?"

I was stunned and the more he talked the more I wanted to know. Everything he was saying was sending me little vibrations through me, as if to warn me that it was familiar. But instead …

"Stop it. I don't wanna hear anymore." I said covering my ears.

He smiled even more. He stood up and leaned towards me to kiss me on the forehead. "You're both angry and scared my Yoru. But do you even know why?"

"I've got plenty of reasons." I snapped, pushing him away. "Being kidnapped by strangers is not funny. It's even worse when they hurt your friends to get to you! You're the lowest form of person I can think of!"

He suddenly stopped smiling. "By friend you mean the red clansman that Akihiko killed?"

"He's not dead!" I shouted, trying to convince myself in the process. "Yata's too stubborn to die so easily! He's alive, I know he is."

"That's wishful thinking, Yoru. No one is coming for you. You might as well accept it."

"You're lying again."

He stayed quiet for a moment. Then he really looked angry. "It seems I underestimated the impact these guys left on you. Have you fallen in love with one of them by any chance?"

"W-what? What does that have to do with anything?" I prayed that my face wasn't red.

"It doesn't matter anyways. Maybe I should reconsider letting them live." His eyes lit up and turned purple and a dark shadow surrounded his face.

Fear got a hold of me once more. "You won't do it. You can't. Mr Mikoto is too strong."

"Mr Mikoto? Could it be that it's for the Red King that you have fallen for?"

"You'll never be able to touch them!"

"Brains easily surpass strength when you know how to use it. You've probably forgotten, but my power is slightly different from the ones of other Kings. The only one that could cause me some problem is the Silver King himself. I'm slightly above the rest."

Now he looked like a madman. It was like his mask had fallen. He was arrogant and unbelievably self serving. In that moment, he might have felt even more impressive than Mr Mikoto. He turned to me and gave me a sadistic grin. He then gently cupped my cheeks and brought his face very close to mine. I could feel his cold breath on my face.

"Would you like me to bring you their hearts?" His voice was as calm as usual but his words were hurtful and scary. I couldn't tell if he was trying to scare me or if he was serious."You like them Yoru. I can see it in your eyes so well. You're as easy to read as an open book."

My eyes widened and I slapped his hand away. "Yes I like them! All of them. They took care of me and did everything for me when I was alone and scared, running from an invisible threat. They gave me a home. I felt safe with them."

He looked at me with a sad face. It was like his crazy self had vanished. "If you've gotten attached to them that much in such a short amount of time, I can only imagine how much they've gotten attached to you."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I want you to understand something clearly. I won't let anyone take you away from me again."

"You don't own me."

"I didn't force that mark on your back Yoru. You asked, even begged me for it. You've signed the contract, you won't escape me. If I have to keep you in chains and binds forever, then so be it. If I have to cut every inch on your body, then I will. If I have to eliminate everyone else you care about, then so be it."

This man was a living enigma. "Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm the man you've given everything to Yoru. And I won't let you take it back."

That's when I saw it. The mad mixture of emotions in his eyes. This man was clearly unstable. How could he possibly be a King?

"Get out." I said.

He stared at me for a couple minutes, before heading to the door and walking out, locking it behind him. Only one thought was occupying my mind right now. Escape.I had to get away from this man and fast.

* * *

" _Hey tell me something, Ome." Asked Shohei. "Wouldn't being with that guy bring back Taiga's memory?"_

" _Not necessarily. If he's someone that traumatized her then her unconscious might not want her to remember anything at all. It might even push her to get away from the only thing that can give the memories back to her. It's called survival instinct. She'll try everything to get away from a painful truth."_

* * *

"Come on. Break already." I muttered to myself.

I'd been sitting for the entire night on the floor of 'my room' trying to pick the lock of my chain with pens that I found in my desk. My hands and ankle were bleeding from my failed attempts. I had more cuts than I could count and my hands were all bloody. Who knew a pen could hurt that much? Although it was probably the growing panic inside me that was making me do this. The carpet I was sitting on was stained. I once more tried to force the lock, and once more the pen slipped and made me stab myself in the hand for the fiftieth time. I grunted loudly. I took the pen out of my flesh and threw it across the room with a frustrated cry. I looked at the blood smearing all over my hands and falling on to the floor. Tears fell out of my eyes and mixed themselves with the blood. The fear I'd been containing was finally leaking out. I hugged my legs and leaned my head on my knees and started sobbing. I was suffocating. And I didn't understand why. Ryuu's power was scary sure and he had a side of him that I didn't want to see again, but that couldn't be all. It was more than him. More than his power, more than the twins and everything here. Not understanding only made me want to cry more. I was also freezing.

"I'm scared... I'm scared..." I kept repeating, whispering to myself. "Yata... everyone...please come get me... I want to go home...please..."

It was still dark outside. A strong wind was blowing. I hadn't turned the lights on, so the room was almost completely in the dark. 'Who am I kidding? There's no way they'll find me here. And Yata's …' I dug my nails into my own skin to avoid thinking what I was about to think. But the probability that it was the truth was...high. I was about scream out my depressive thoughts, when I heard some sort of strange sound. It sounded like water evaporating on hot plates. But I didn't know where it was coming from. I jumped on my feet and looked around. As if I weren't stressed out enough already. I walked around the room to find the source.

'Not from out the door... not from the vent... not from the heater...Maybe, from outside?'

I approached the window slowly. I'd closed the curtains because I was afraid someone could see me trying to break free from outside. The closer I got, the clearer I could hear the buzzing noise. I grabbed one of the curtains and slowly started pulling on it...when something came crashing through and hit me. I found myself thrown to the ground, landing on my back with something heavy and warm on me. The thing quickly turned out to be someone. I heard a low growl from the person.

"Ah, shit. That hurts." Said the incredibly familiar voice, while the person pushed on their arms to get themselves off. He was wearing a beanie, a tank top and had a red sweatshirt tied around his waist. Yata froze when he saw me.

"Taiga!" Tears of happiness this time escaped my eyes, as I looked at him, in shock. He realized in what position we were and quickly backed off. "Ah, sorry."

I got to my knees and threw my arms around him. "Yata." I said with my strangled voice. "You're alive."

I hugged him tightly until he finally hugged back. "Y-yeah, well...come on, you didn't think some freak strain armed with toothpicks could do me in, did you?"

"Idiot. You scared the hell out of me." I let him go and looked at him. He had numerous cuts but all had somehow been closed. "How did you survive? You had that deep cut across your stomach... you should have bled to death. How... no, did you..."

I took a closer look at his scars. They did look he'd burned them to make them scar faster. My jaw dropped. I was surprised he knew that kind of trick.

"Oh that? Yeah, it was the only thing I could think of to stop bleeding. Hurts like a son of a bitch, though." He looked down and suddenly had a dark expression on his face. "More importantly, tell me what happened."

He grabbed my bleeding hand and helped me stand. He meticulously studied it. He also looked at the scars from Ryuu's cuts. "This whole room reeks of blood. Tell me who did this to you."

He started trembling with rage. "You can't!" I immediately said. "He's a King, Yata."

He didn't look surprised at all. "You think I give a crap?"

"Remember what happened last time you tried to fight a King? You almost got killed." He clenched his teeth. I threw my arms around him again. "Can we get out of here, please?" I begged, ready to cry again. "I want to go home."

* * *

 **Ashinaka High School Campus**

"Shiro!" Shouted the Black Dog, as he barged in the room of his King.

"Yes, I know Kuro." The Silver King stood up, with a serious expression on his face. "Neko. Let's get ready. It seems we have to have a little talk with the sixth and purple King."

"Hurray nya! We're gonna help Taiga!" Happily shouted the strain.

* * *

 **YAY! We found Yata! And Yata found Taiga! Now we just need to find Saru! While the Red and Blue clans find them! And Taiga still needs to find her memory! And I'm gonna stop! Whatever, just keep reading. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	12. Chapter 12 : Saviors and Sacrifice

**Hey guys! I apologize for the long delay! Please forgive me and enjoy as much as you can this chapter where, guess what? We found someone else!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Come on let's get out of here." Said the Red clansmen as he grabbed my hand.

"Wait. I'm chained." I said. "I tried to break it, but I don't exactly have the right tools and well... you've seen the result."

Yata crouched down to take a look at my ankle. He looked very focused on it for a bit. Before telling me to sit on the ground. "I can melt it but it's gonna hurt like hell."

"Burn my foot off if you have to. I just want to get out of here." I told him.

He nodded before grabbing the cuff around my ankle in between two fingers and releasing his power. The piece of metal started turning red quickly and I felt the burn on my skin. I bit my hand to keep myself from screaming.

"There done. And here put this on." He said untying his sweatshirt from his waist and giving it to me. I had no idea what had happened to my white one. I put it on without question. Yata then stepped on something that he picked up. It was the album with the woman.

"Is that your mom?" He asked.

"I don't know, Yata." I replied. "Can we go please?"

He ripped the photo from the album, folded it and gave it to me. "Keep this. You never know."

I did and put it in my pocket. He pulled the curtains away from the window, and I realized a huge part of the window had been, well... melted. That explained the steamy noise I heard earlier. Even the iron bars outside had been reduced to liquid. 'I just keep getting amazed by the power of the red clan. Yata's face then suddenly turned pinkish.

"Hum, It's better if you don't jump by yourself with your foot so... hum... Yeah, come here..."

I smiled. It was nice to see the same old same old Yata, even after he nearly went through death. I ran up to him and he picked me up bridal style and jumped out the window to land in the marble courtyard, two floors below. Once down he let go off me.

"Can you run?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Let's go then." He started running in one direction that was not the outside gate. "

"Wait where are we going? How did you come here in the first place."

"I grabbed on to the wheels of the helicopter that picked you up with the crazy strain bastards. Then I jumped into the trees before it entered the place."

"You're telling me that you had the strength to drag yourself up fast enough to grab on to that helicopter for god knows how long, burn your wounds to make them scar and then jumped from god knows how high with only a tree to keep you from death? You're insane!"

"I knew I wouldn't die, the helicopter was low when I jumped. Besides, if they'd seen me inside the place, they'd have killed me on the spot. And I still had to find you."

"Since when have you been so strategically thinking?"

He gave me a face. "Huh? What's that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing. Wait, did you contact Mr Mikoto?"

"No, my phone got busted during the fight."

"Where are we going now?"

"To that weird tower thingy. That's where the helicopter landed."

We ran until we reached the tower. From the inside it looked like a big military parking lot. 'Deja vu' I thought. There were tons of trucks, cars, motorcycles, vans, bigger trucks... 'Maybe this guy was into the transport business.' In the middle, there was an elevator we climbed in and Yata hit the top floor button.

'It's weird. Aside from Ryuu, Akihiko and Keiji, I haven't seen any other clansman or people for that matter. Are they hiding or does he only have two? Sounds fishy for such a big place.'

A growl brought me back to reality, and I saw Yata lean on the wall his teeth clenched and eyes closed. He let himself slide down and sat on the floor. He's breathing was heavy and sweat drops were forming on his forehead despite the cold.

"Yata!" I said as I quickly knelt next to him. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, no big. I just... gotta sit for a bit..."

"You lost too much blood." I said as I looked at his face getting paler by the second. I placed my hand on his forehead. "You're burning up. We have to get you to a doctor and fast!"

"Shit." He quietly cursed and gave me an awkward smile. "I hate the doctor. Just keep talking to me so I don't fall asleep for real."

I sat next to him, more worried than ever. I even grabbed his hand and he didn't react. That was a lot more stressful.

"What do you think the others are up to now?" I asked.

"Looking for us, what else would they be doing? That crazy strain chick is probably helping them look for us. If Anna's feeling better she probably is too. Too bad they're slow as hell."

We heard a ding and the elevator cage opened up to the roof area. A bunch of helicopters were there. I helped Yata up and we made our way through the aligned choppers. Yata led me to one at the end. He opened it and hopped inside. I followed him in.

"What now?" I asked.

"Well, this is the one we came in..."

Something clicked in my brain. "Yata, was this your way out?"

"Of course not! I can't fly a chopper!"

"You think I can?"

"Huh, well I was thinking we could use the radio to call for backup."

"But you don't know how that works either, do you?" I face-palmed. I knew this was all too good to be true. I stepped inside the chopper. "Well, we can at least try."

"I think not, kitten. Without the right codes, it's useless anyways." Said a familiar voice behind us.

Both of us jumped and turned around. In the back of the helicopter, Keiji was sitting in the farthest seats, hands behind his head, legs crossed and that same perverted grin on his face. "Not to burst your bubble, but that was an easy move to predict. But I didn't expect you to still be alive. You're the first person ever that escaped from death after fighting my brother."

He stood up slowly and grabbed his gun. I instinctively threw myself in front of Yata. Keiji chuckled. "Really, kitten? You know I won't have problem hitting him even if I shoot through you."

"But if you leave a scratch on me, you'll have hell to pay." I snapped back.

He looked surprised, but then quickly smiled again. Before he could say anything else, Yata lit his hand up with his aura and punched the control board making a hole in it before grabbing me by the hand and jumping both of us outside the craft. The second we were out, the chopper blew up and sent both of us flying so far away, we went over the edge of the roof. I screamed out, but Yata's hand grabbed my wrist and with his other hand, lit up with the red king's aura, he shoved it in the building's structure. We slid down until we stopped going down. I looked down. I was hanging thirty meters up in the air, while Yata was struggling to not let go. He was sweating, and clenching his teeth.

"Damn it!" He cursed.

"Yata, I'm falling!" I shouted panicked as I tried to get a good hold of his hand.

My hand quickly slipped due to the sweat on his hand. Before I could say anything I was free falling again. I shut my eyes. 'That's it, I'm gonna die.' But then something grabbed me around the waist and brutally stopped my fall.

"I swear. For a single girl, you're so troublesome." Said a familiar, bored voice.

I opened my eyes and looked up. A certain blue clansman with glasses, was holding me and giving me a reproachful look.

"Saru!"

"HUH?" Exclaimed Yata. "What're you doin' here monkey?"

"Tch. Would you mind holding on? You're heavy."

I looked down. I was still hanging twenty meters above ground. My eyes widened and I quickly placed my hand around his neck. As for Saru, he had two small knifes coming out of his shoes planted inside the building structure. Only he would have something like that. Both blades were emitting red aura. But frankly, I was more worried about the heights.

"There's no need to strangle me." He looked up. "Misaki! Let go."

"HUH? You crazy bastard! You want me to die?"

Saru sighed before using his free hand to take a knife out and throwing it at Yata's hand level. The impact made part of the concrete crumble, including where Yata was holding on. The red clansman fell, only to be caught by the blue clansman by the shirt. Then, with the sole power of his blue aura, he slid down the wall until we reached the ground.

"ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU COULD'VE KILLED ME!" Shouted the angry crow. "LET GO OFF ME YOU STUPID GLASSES FREAK!"

Saruhiko rolled his eyes before dropping Yata four meters before we reached the ground. HOMRA'S skateboarding captain fell heavily on his backside, and stood up as Saru and I reached the ground gently.

"Bastard!" Growled Yata, while getting back up and brandishing his fist at his former comrade. "You want a piece of me? Is that it? I'll take you on any time!"

"You're welcome for saving your ass." Replied calmly yet slightly pissed off clansman. He then looked at me. "You can let go now."

I realized I was still clinging tightly to his neck. "Saru, what are you doing here?"

He frowned. "Visiting. I'm hoping to buy the place."

"Who'd want to buy a place in this dump?" Asked Yata. "Hey wait. You don't even have the money for a mansion."

"It's called being sarcastic, Misaki." He turned to me. "Why do you think I'm here?" He threw something at me. "You left this behind."

I caught it. It was the knife he'd given me, that I'd dropped during the fight with Keiji.

"Hey stop flirting with her and tell us why the hell you're here, monkey!" Growled Yata, unhappy to be ignored.

"I just did, dumbass. I'm here cause somebody didn't seem to do his job very well and someone had to come pull your sorry ass out of the fire. Again."

Yata clenched his teeth and approached Saru until their foreheads were practically touching. "Come and say that to my face again, I dare you!"

"You're already in my face idiot. Back off by the way, you smell like roasted pig."

"Why you son of a..."

A silly bickering between two friends. That's what I was seeing. These guys... they'd come all this way... they fought... they bled... they tracked down... all for me. These guys who had no clue who I was for real. Everything they'd given me was so big, so intense... I felt my heart tighten in my chest and tears come up to my eyes. I was so grateful and so guilty. The tears escaped my eyes and I let out a sob. Both of them turned towards me. Saru just looked at me like I was a pitiful sight. Yata's eyes widened.

"Oi,Taiga? What's wrong?"

"Can we please get out of here guys? Please."

"Let's go." Ordered Saru, before grabbing my hand and starting to run while pulling me behind him. Yata quickly followed, as we got further away from the tower.

"Oi, monkey! Where're we going? Our way out is up there."

"You mean the one you just blew up? Thanks to you the entire place knows we're here. We're getting out the way I came in. By chopper."

"You flew a helicopter here?" I asked surprised.

"You blues have guns on your choppers. Why didn't you just blow up the place?"

"Stop talking, Misaki. You're stupid is rubbing off on me."

"SAY WHAT?!"

"How did you find us?" I asked.

"I planted a bug on you."

"What? When?"

"When I last came to the bar. The white haired King suggested it. Looks like he was right. Now stop asking stupid questions and move it. Thanks to Misaki blowing up that aircraft, everyone knows we're here."

"Stuff it, four-eyed monkey!"

The blue clansman led us to the wall that separated the property from the gigantic forest surrounding it. Saru helped me climb up and get on the other side. While he and Yata had no trouble going over by themselves. (So much for being the gymnast in the group). Saru told us that he'd landed his chopper up on a hill far to avoid getting spotted. Yata and I followed him through the thick forest, under a dark sky. It was hard to move around in there. The trees and their roots were gigantic and all over the place. Who would build something here, unless they had something to hide. Even though he was doing his best to keep it hidden, Yata was obviously slower than usual and he looked in pain. I didn't know what to do to help him. I knew Saru had noticed too. He was far too observant not to. But he didn't say anything, aside from occasionally throwing his former comrade a couple glances to make sure he kept up. The blue clansman never let go off my hand either, guiding me over the paths to take.

"You know Saru, I can walk."

"Tch, yeah right. You're legs are trembling so much, you'll trip at the first rock." He stated, as if he was annoyed. Was it really that noticeable. "So, who's the guy that kidnapped you?"

"His name is Ryuu Karasuno."

"The purple King, huh? What did he want with you?"

"I don't know. But he seems to know me. In that mansion there was a room that belonged to me. Everything points to me being close to him. But when I'm near him, it's like my insides freeze and I'm so terrified I can't hear myself breath."

Saru didn't ask anymore questions and I was grateful for that. We finally reached the rocky hill where Saru had landed his aircraft chopper. The helicopter came into view, but when we were about fifteen meters away...BOOM! The vehicle exploded sending heatwaves and flying debris towards us. Saru shielded us with his blue aura until the waves died out.

"W-what just happened?" I asked, completely shocked.

"Just payback for blowing up the chopper in my face, kitten." Said a familiar voice.

Keiji, with his gun in his hand appeared out of the trees and placed himself in front of us. He didn't even have a scratch on him. How in the world had he escaped the explosion?

"How did you get in front of us?"

"If I told you that, kitten, I'd give you an easy escaped route. How about a deal? Come back with me quietly and I'll let your bodyguards live."

Saru unsheathed his sword. Keiji whistled. "Nice lookin' sword you got there, blue. You want this one, Aki?" He called out. The called one jumped from his tree and landed next to his brother. Aki had the same expressionless face as before. But this time on the side of his face, too close to his left eye, was a nasty scar form a clean cut.

"Your face..." Was all I could say.

"I told you, you'd be the death of us."

Keiji chuckled and explained jokingly. "The boss got mad that he put the moves on you. Still Aki, you could've called me over."

"How can you be so calm? He's your brother!" I shouted.

"Does it make you sad kitten? You're so cute. Risk is our lifestyle. You see, we knew what we were getting into when we started working for the boss, unlike you. You were so terrified when you found out the truth about him. It was a great sight."

My heartbeat accelerated. I didn't want to hear this. But at the same time, I knew I needed to. But instead of continuing. Keiji took a step forward and pointed his gun towards Saru. He fired five shots in a row that the blue clansman deflected easily with his sword and knife.

"Impressive! You're good, man. You'd make a great addition to the team." Praised the gunman.

"Joining idiots who use their powers for fun? Been there, done that." Replied the blue clansman.

Something beeped and Akihiko took a phone out of his pocket and brought it to his ear. He quickly answered a 'yes, sir' before putting it away. "Keiji."

"Seriously?" Pouted the younger twin. "We were just getting started. Guess works comes first."

He sighed before putting his gun away and joining his brother and placing his hand on his shoulder. Bothe the twins's eyes turned purple. 'They're activating their aura? They've never done it before. I have no clue what their powers are.' Akihiko unsheathed one of his blades and rose it up in the air...

* * *

 **I'm really sorry for doing this to you but...CLIFFHANGER!**


	13. Chapter 13 : Cornered and Caught

**Hey guys! A thousand times sorry for my lateness, really truly! I hope you like this next chapter, where things start to get a bit complicated for our dear Taiga...**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Akihiko unsheathed one of his blades and rose it up in the air... A light purple aura surrounded both brothers and the eldest's short sword. Saru placed himself in front of us, ready to block whatever they were going to throw at us. But an odd feeling got a hold of me. I somehow knew that whatever they were going to throw at us, none of us could stop it. The katana wielding clansman pointed his sword towards the ground and thrusted it into it. For the first few seconds, nothing happened. Then the ground under us started shaking, as if an earthquake was happening right under us. Out of nowhere, the earth started moving back, like a land slide. Even the trees were being moved. Saruhiko brought me close to him and held me tightly. The ground was moving us back towards the property at an insane speed. There was nothing to hang on to, everything was sliding. Saru and Yata were sliding down the moving ground, like skiers trying to run away from an avalanche. Yata, not having any extra weight was being dragged faster than us. I realized that we were getting close to the wall of the property way too fast. If we crashed into it at this speed, we'd be bloody pancakes.

"YATA! WATCH OUT FOR THE WALL!" I shouted.

Lucky he heard me even with the earth rumbling. The red clansman jumped on a piece of wood to use as a pseudo skateboard and once he'd regain a little balance (little being understatement), and then set his entire body on fire with the red aura. He took as much speed as he could and then jumped off his 'skate', put his body in canon ball position and crashed into the wall making a gigantic hole in it. Saru and I quickly followed and the three of us rolled violently on the polished stone ground of the property. At every hit, I felt a new bruise appear on my body. We stopped about midway between the mansion and the wall we'd busted through. I forced myself up to my knees, but my body felt like it barely had an ounce of strength left.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked.

"Tch. They've ruined my uniform." Complained Saru. "At least, these scumbags haven't broken my glasses."

"I'll take that as a yes. Yata?"

The red clansman , on the other hand, was panting and sweating even more than before. It seemed like using his power was draining whatever he'd left of energy. He looked paler than a ghost.

"Yata..."

"I'll be fine, don't sweat it." He said forcing a grin onto his face.

In a normal situation, I would have dragged him to a doctor, but in our present state all I could do was stare at him, worried out of my mind. I didn't even have the time to say anything to him. The twins were suddenly standing. In front of us again.

"You look pretty good covered in bruises kitten. To bad I didn't get to inflict them directly."

Saru sighed. "You're a magnet for perverted men, you know that?"

I couldn't even talk back. Fear was strangling me. The blue clansman stood up. He took something out of his pocket and threw it at me. I caught it without checking what it was. "Saru?"

"Misaki, take Taiga and hide somewhere." He ordered as he once faced the two brothers.

"Huh? What do I have to? I owe this guy big time..."

"Think you idiot. He beat you before, and right now you're in a pathetic state."

"You sayin' you're stronger than me or something?"

"I'm not as injured, for a start."

"That's nothing! Even with those wounds, I can still kick your..."

"MISAKI!"

This time, Saru turned his head around and gave his former fellow clansman a serious glare. Not exactly a death glare, but more of a silent order. A 'We-don't-have-time-to-discuss-this' kind of look.

"This isn't about you. It's about her."

Yata gave him a surprised look, before nodding. He grabbed my hand and we started running towards the mansion.

"You better not die, Monkey! The only one who gets to kill you is me!"

'Punk', thought the blue clansman before turning back to face his opponents. His eyes were those of a snake on it's prey. Although the twins didn't seem to be impressed. Keiji whistled again.

"You know, you're almost as scary as Aki when he's angry blue. Oh well, I'll leave this one to you bro."

"Fine. Just don't hurt the girl if you don't want a scar matching mine."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Sorry, but you're both fighting me." Said the blue clansman. He placed his sword back in it's sheath and with quick movements and impressive agility, he took his knives and shot ten of them all around the three of them. The blue aura started emitting from the blades and made a giant cage around the three clansmen, blocking the twins's way out. "If you want to go after them, you have to go through me. Oh and one more thing..." Saruhiko once more unsheathed his sword. "I don't like being ignored. Fushimi, ready!"

"It's your funeral, blue clansman." Said Akihiko as he drew his swords out.

"This'll be fun." Added the younger twin.

* * *

Yata and I circled around the mansion when he finally stopped. "Where are we even going?" He asked. "We can't use the radio on the choppers, going through that big ass forest with no compass is a no..."

"We have to find some way to contact Mr. Mikoto and Ome." I said. "It's are only chance. If Ryu finds us we're dead."

"They'll find us. I know they will. They have Mister Kusanagi, Anna and that weirdo strain with them. They'll be here in no time."

He suddenly fell down on one knee. "Yata!"

"This is not good." He said panting. "If this keeps up, I'm gonna pass out."

"We have to find some place to hide. But where? They probably know this place like the back of their hands..."

Yata looked up. "Up there..."

"The roof?"

"Won't that guy expect that we're tryin' to run away? Up there is probably the last place he'll look."

"I don't see what else we could do, but how do we get up there."

He stood up with difficulty. "Hang on to me."

I did. Yata placed one arm around my waist, and his aura appeared around his feet. He gave a good kick to the ground and in a couple swift and quick movements, managed to get us up three floors and on the roof. Lucky for us, it was flat. But the second we were up, Yata's legs gave in and he sat on the ground, leaning his back on the small wall. I knelt down and placed my hand on his forehead again.

'He's completely exhausted. If we don't get out of this place fast, who knows what's going to happen?' I realized that I was still holding on to the thing Saru had thrown at me. It was his PDA. I quickly dialed Mr Mikoto's number... but it didn't ring...there seemed to be interference. 'Then how come Keiji and Akihiko can use theirs?' Wait, Keiji said communications required codes, maybe it was the same for PDAs. But maybe there was something else I could do. I pressed the location app. And it worked. It really was the middle of a forest. I expended the map. It didn't seem like we were that far from Tokyo, and therefore Shizume. But still way too far for Ome to find us. But maybe not for Anna if she were in her normal state. The chances that they'd find us was slim. But now that I had a map, we could probably try to cross the forest. But after a glance at Yata, struggling to stay awake, that was also a big no.

"Please, guys find us quickly."

"Even if they do, do you really think they'll be able to take you back?"

I jumped to my feet. The purple King had stepped onto the roof from the door leading inside the mansion. "No..."

"You're really making this harder than it needs to be Yoru." He stopped and looked at Yata. "So this is the one that broke you out. What is your name red clansman?"

Yata made a face and stood up. "I'm Yatagarasu, and I'm gonna make sure you pay for hurting Taiga."

"Taiga? Is that the name you gave to my Yoru? How vulgar. Such an ordinary name for such a special girl. Your clan must be blind or have no taste."

"Who gives a damn? It doesn't matter anyway. As long as I'm still breathing, you're not gonna touch a hair on her head."

The King chuckled. "And how do you plan on stopping me little clansman? You can barely stand on your own legs. Even if you were in top form, you wouldn't have a chance at beating me."

"You think your earth moving crap scares me? It's nothing next to my flames. I'm gonna burn you to a crisp and feed you to the crows."

"Is the entire clan like this? How incredibly naive." His eyes suddenly turned purple and his smile disappeared. "I really can't stand people like you. Don't interfere with us anymore, red clansman. Leave or die."

"Like hell, bastard! I still have a score to settle with you."

"Yata, wait..."

"Let him speak, Yoru." Ordered the purple King.

"I'm not letting you walk away with what you did to her."

"Are you now?" Ryu raised his and snapped his fingers. I suddenly received a strong hit to the stomach. My breath was cut off, and I fell on the ground almost fainting. It was like an invisible fist had hit me. Yata's eyes turned red and his whole body caught fire. He threw himself on Ryu.

"Yata, no!" I shouted as loud as I could.

Again an invisible force seemed to strike. Ryu didn't move a muscle, and yet when Yata jumped into the air to strike him, he was suddenly dragged vertically and crashed right in front of the king. Part of the floor cracked. I could see that his head was bleeding. He was still giving him a death glare, but it was like his body was stuck to the ground.

"Yata!" I tried standing up, but my body wouldn't work with me.

"Hey boss." Called out a voice . The twins were standing on the banister. Keiji tossed something towards me. "Here, I'm giving it back to you. Sorry if I broke him."

Saru landed on the ground and rolled next to me. He was covered in cuts and bruises and was bleeding from more than one place.

"Saru!"

The blue clansman grunted and managed to pull himself up to his knees. "Damn it. These scumbags are better than I thought."

"It seems that the blue clan is also involved." Stated Ryu. "I'm not surprised. You have such a charisma that you could make every king fall at your feet. And who might you be?"

"Saruhiko Fushimi."

"Maybe it's for a blue clansman that you've fallen for, eh my Yoru?"

"Surrendering now would be the best option for you purple King." Suddenly said Saru. "When I landed here, I sent a signal from my chopper. Scepter 4 will be here in less than an hour. And I think the captain has a lot to ask you about your recent activities."

What? Why didn't he tell us sooner? Or was he bluffing? Ryu stayed silent for a minute before smiling again. "Are you trying to scare me, blue clansman?"

"It's not my style to pick a fight where it's not needed."

'Except when it's Yata, apparently.' I thought.

Ryu continued. "When official business comes, I'll deal with it properly. However right now, I'm dealing with something very personal. And you two boys, happen to be unwanted pests in my way."

"How so?" Asked Saru, who was obviously trying to buy time.

"I just have to look in my Yoru's eyes to see how much you two mean to her. And I really don't like it."

Suddenly, Keiji was standing right next to me and Akihiko, next to Saru. The eldest placed a blade under the blue clansman's throat.

"Move and you die."

Ryu knelt down and grabbed Yata by the throat and pulled him up in the air until his feet didn't touch the ground anymore. The red clansman struggled to get free, but he obviously didn't have the strength left for it. He attempted to summon his aura but it quickly faded away.

"Are those the mighty flames you wanted to burn me with? Pathetic. Since you did keep Yoru for me however, I'll be merciful and give you a quick death."

The purple King rose his free hand and brought two fingers together. Purple aura surrounded it and he brought them closer to Yata's throat.

"NO, DON'T!" I shouted. "RYU, PLEASE!"

I was about to get up when Keiji grabbed by the hoodie and pulled me to my feet. One of his arms circled my shoulders and the other hand in front of my mouth. "Shut up and watch kitten. You won't get to see the boss be merciful again in your life." He whispered in my ear.

Ryu looked at me. "I warned you, Yoru. I won't let you escape, even if I have to kill everyone you care about."

I stared in horror as a river of tears escaped from my eyes and ran down my cheeks. Ryu's hand was getting closer and closer to Yata's neck. Saru's teeth were clenched and for once his eyes showed anger. But he was too weak to move. We were helpless. I was helpless. Yata was going to die? Here? In this unknown place? Like this? Like a slaughtered pig? Why? Why did he have to die? And for me. It was all my fault. If only I'd stayed away in the first place... This wouldn't be happening. Why couldn't I do anything? Why did I have to be the one to drag him, them into this? I suddenly saw Yata staring at me from the corner of the eye. It wasn't a hateful eye. It was a worried one. And then I saw him grin.

'No. He can't die like this. Anyone. Anyone please... someone strong... someone help us!' I screamed internally.

 _Flesh was cut. Blood was spilled. But not from the throat. Only the cheek. And not from Yata. As she was carrying him on her shoulder, she landed gracefully, her long white coat flying behind her. The strain stood between us and the purple King. She turned to him and smiled._

" _So, you're the one who's been causing so much trouble for my friend, aren't you?" Asked Ome._

" _Hey..." Said Keiji. "You're the chick from the strain society."_

" _And you're the bastards who attacked me." She looked at me. "You alright, Taiga?"_

 _Tears were still coming out of my eyes but I managed to nod. Her brilliant smile never left her face. She put Yata down and checked his pulse and temperature._

" _He's fine, just passed out." She stood back up and looked at the King. "Allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Ome Shiranui. I'm a doctor and the head of the Strain Society. I come forward to bring you a message, Ryu Karasuno, sixth and purple King. The Red and Blue Kings are on their way. They need to speak to you about an urgent matter. And I am here to make sure you stay away from her."_

 _She moved suddenly so fast that I lost her. But then both the twins fell to the ground unconscious. I turned around to see Ome behind me. Something was very strange about her. She was grinning. I haven't known her long enough to make assumptions, but it seemed off. From what I saw, she was a very smart person with very logical thinking and it wasn't like her to not plan things ahead and be so spontaneous. But she walked straight up to the King and stopped two feet away from him._

" _And now purple King, Ryu Karasuno, time to put you to sleep."_

 _The strain doctor raised her hand, showing her claws and with an insanely fast movement, shoved them into the king's chest. A grey aura surrounded her, making her hair and coat fly in the air. However, Ryu didn't scream. He didn't even flinch. He was just smiling at the strain and started chuckling._

" _I can't believe what I'm seeing. Seems like you're so much more dangerous when you're like this..." He muttered not really addressing anyone._

 _Now I was sure something was wrong. Why would Ome take on a King like that? She made it clear that taking aura directly from a King would kill her. Also it was reckless to take on a King. It was something hot headed like Yata would do, not Ome. And when she took a strong aura, the veins in her arm would turn the color of the aura. There were too many things wrong with what I was seeing. Especially Ryu's reaction. This could only men one thing... What I was seeing right now... wasn't real..._

"It's a lie."

I blinked and for a second, I was certain to have heard a glass breaking noise. When I opened my eyes again, Keiji and Akihiko were still on the ground unconscious. Yata was on the ground at the spot where Ome had put him down and Saru was looking around and rubbing his eyes. But Ome was nowhere to be seen.

"What the hell just happened?" Said the blue clansman. "Where did she go?"

I was super confused. What in the world had just happened? Had I been victim to an illusion? But it looked like Saru also saw it. And the twins were really passed out. Suddenly, Ryu started laughing hysterically.

"HAHAHAHAHA! This is amazing! I never thought things would turn out like this." He looked at me. "Who would have thought you'd be able to pull something like this, my Yoru? You're even more dangerous in this state. I never thought your condition could make you do this."

The purple King looked like he knew exactly what was going on. Ryu walked over to where I was standing, grabbed my arm before I could back away and pulled me closer to him while looking up at the sky. Saruhiko tried to get to his feet, but fell right back down, clenching his teeth to suppress the pain.

"Now real trouble is coming. Keiji, Akihiko. Wake up."

His eyes turned purple for a second. The twins seemed to be shaken by some sort of electric shock and both of them got back on their feet.

"Ouch that hurt." Complained the younger one. "Where's the damn strain?"

"Heads up, Kei." Said Akihiko, looking up just like his king.

"Oh great." Cursed the younger twin before quickly jumping out of the way.

I was more and more confused when something came out of nowhere and crashed in the middle of the roof, making it look like an explosion. The whole place trembled and I would have fallen if Ryu hadn't been holding me. Smoke from the explosion was slowly fading revealing three human forms.

"In the first time you've manifested yourself, purple King, you've brought us a lot of trouble." Said a sweet and oddly familiar voice."

"Yashiro?" I asked.

The smoke faded away and in front of us were standing the Silver King, carrying his old fashioned umbrella and standing besides him, Kuro hand on his sword, ready to fight and Neko clinging to him.

Ryu chuckled. "Adolf K. Weissman. To what do I owe the pleasure? I have to say I didn't expect you to drop by like this, uninvited."

Shiro was still smiling. "Well, you see when matters are this urgent, I tend to bend a few of my own rules. More importantly, would you please kindly let go of Taiga?"

"And if I tell you that I am unable to fulfill your request?"

The Silver King's smile suddenly disappeared. "Then I'll assume words won't be enough to persuade you."

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 **SILVER CLAN TO THE RESCUE! But what the hell in the world just happened? What did Taiga just do? PLEASE REVIEW!**


	14. Chapter 14 : Confrontation and Confusion

**I'm so sorry for the wait you guys! I had a lot of exams recently. College is great and all, but it steals all my time for writing! Talk about not respecting creativity! Anyways, don't hate me please!**

 **Enjoy! The rescue party is finally here! But is it going to be enough to stop the Purple King?**

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Shiro was still smiling. "Well, you see when matters are this urgent, I tend to bend a few of my own rules. More importantly, would you please kindly let go of Taiga?"

"And if I tell you that I am unable to fulfill your request?"

The Silver King's smile suddenly disappeared. "Then I'll assume words won't be enough to persuade you."

The purple King laughed again. "I really didn't think you were the kind to make direct threats, Silver King. But you know as well as I do that as long as I have her in my grasp, you won't try anything."

"I don't recall threatening you. But you might want to put luck on your side for what is coming. I think the Blue King has a lot to discuss with you and I don't believe the red clan is too happy about the abduction of one of their members."

"One of their members? You didn't tell me that you joined the Red Clan, Yoru." He said looking at me with that smile I knew meant trouble.

"I-I didn't."

"I see. Good girl." He said stroking my cheek with his thumb, which sent shivers down my spine.

"I will not let you escape, Ryu Karasuno." Stated Shiro. "You should consider surrendering now."

"Escape?" Ryu chuckled. "Why would I try to escape? This is my home and you are on my property, Adolph K. Weissman. But don't worry. I have no intention whatsoever of fleeing. In fact I'm rather impatient for the Red and Blue King to arrive."

'What is he planning now?' A long moment of silence went by, as Shiro and Ryu were having a staring contest, neither ever blinking. Kuro was facing Akihiko, hand on his sword, ready to strike while Neko was making faces at Keiji, hissing like a cat. Meanwhile, Saru was examining Yata.

"This is not good. He's completely passed out and his pulse is way too fast. He's completely anemic."

A sadistic smile appeared on my guardian's face. "Looks like your little friend is going to kick the bucket soon, my Yoru. Care to watch?"

"You're a monster!" I shouted.

"Kuro, give some sugar to Yata. That will at least keep him from loosing too much energy." Ordered Shiro before turning to the Purple King again. "I have a question for you."

"By all means. We still have time before our other guests arrive."

"What is the connection between this girl and the Colorless King?"

"So you figured that out already?"

"I have never met Taiga before and she doesn't seem to be connected to me in any way. There is a much higher chance that it is with that King that she has links."

"You're sharp. As expected of the Silver King. Although answering that question would bring me more trouble than necessary, so I'd rather not reply. At least not now."

"What are you plotting Purple King? Why is she so important to you? Has she got something to do with your plans?"

"Incidentally no. Yoru is simply a very special person to me."

"I find that hard to believe. She's no strain. She's an ordinary high school girl."

"I didn't think you'd be so naive as to think that, Silver King. Yoru is far from being ordinary in many ways."

Shiro frowned. His face was easy to read. He was confused. Ryu was obviously a very confident and strong person. But he was also a single King about to meet three others. It wasn't reassuring to see him act so confident. Suddenly, we could hear helicopters getting closer. Everyone looked up. Five of them approached the estate and hovered over it. Two of them landed in the courtyard. A door of one of them that was still in the air opened and something or rather someone jumped out of it and landed on the roof in a gigantic ball of fire. For the first time since I'd met him, he didn't have a cigarette in his mouth. And looked pissed.

"Mr Mikoto..." I muttered.

The man walked up to the Silver Clan and stopped next to them, staring at the Purple King with angry eyes. The latter smiled.

"Welcome to my estate, Mikoto Suho. It really does seem that not even the King has manners in the red clan."

"So you're the bastard that was behind this the whole time?" His voice was as calm as ever, but this time his tone was ice cold. He looked at me. "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay, but Yata's not."

"Still worrying about others without even a thought about your own safety? How selfless can one be I wonder. But I guess it's one of the things I like about you." Chuckled Ryu.

A fire appeared in Mr Mikoto's eyes. "I'm gonna kill you."

"That's enough Suho. Honestly, can you never control yourself?"

The blue King had just entered on the roof, having jumped from one of the choppers as well. Behind him were the lieutenant, a few blue clansmen and Mr Kusanagi. He placed himself next to the fuming Red King.

"Mind your own business Munakata."

"Don't make me regret to have given you a lift here, Suho. Besides, you might want to take into account that your protégée is in your line of fire. Even your weakest attack would hit her if you try anything."

"Hurry up and get the talking over with." Said the Red King without ever taking his eyes off the purple King.

Mr Kusanagi placed a hand on Mikoto's shoulder. "Easy Mikoto. We don't wanna harm Taiga." The blond man looked at me. "Are you alright?"

I was about to nod when Ryu slightly tightened his grip on me. "I can still feel her tremble if that's your question. Poor thing."

The door bursted open and the entire red clan stepped onto the roof, followed by a couple more of blue clansmen. "Boss!"

"Everyone..." I said.

Ryu sighted. "Honestly, can none of you enter someone else's home properly? In any case, welcome to my estate. Allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Ryu Karasuno. I am the sixth King. Now will you please explain to me why three kings came here?"

"You know damn well why we're here." Growled Mikoto.

Mr Munakata took a step closer. "Ryu Karasuno. I, Reisi Munakata, the fourth and blue King, have reasons to believe that you are involved in questionable material trafficking. I am here as a representative of Scepter 4 to interrogate you."

"Oh? Then you are not here to take Yoru back from me, blue King? In that case, would you mind telling the others to leave so we may discuss business? As for you Red King, I would advise you to forget about Yoru. I am her guardian, legally speaking."

"Unfortunately for you, Ryu Karasuno, the Red clan is not my concern at the moment. Wether they are here or not does not interest me. And judging by the girl's physical state, I would say no legal authority would allow you to have custody of her."

"But that is not your field, is it Blue King? If you're concerned about that, call it in with the police. They'll take care of it. Until then, the Red and Silver King have no business on my property."

"And you think we give a damn about that?" Shouted Shohei.

"Give Taiga back to us you bastard!" Said Yo.

"How annoyingly noisy." Muttered the Purple King and this time he was not smiling. "You punks have no idea how much this girl is worth yet you dare to claim her? You're not fit to be anywhere near her."

"What do you mean, how much she's worth?" Asked Mr Kusanagi.

"As I said before, a lot of things make my Yoru special. The first of those things would be this."

He suddenly yanked my arm and made me face him, my back turned to the others. He forced Yata's sweatshirt off of me and grabbed the back of my shirt to rip the upper part and uncover my rose tattoo.

"Son of a bitch..." Muttered Saru.

"Do you have any idea what this symbol is, Blue King?" Asked Ryu ignoring Saru's comment and other insults coming from the Red Clan.

"That is the symbol of your clan." Flatly replied Mr Munakata. "How is this girl associated with you?"

"What an idiotic question. She's my family. Because she is my clansman as well."

I gasped and my eyes widened. I think that my heart stopped working for a second. A long moment of silence went by once again and only the wind could be heard. I looked up to the thin man. "What did you do to me?"

"I told you, my sweet girl. You asked me for that mark. I didn't force it on you."

"That's not possible."

"So stubborn. Why won't you just believe the truth?"

"I analyzed her blood." Suddenly said Saru, while standing up slowly. "There was no traces of constant aura activity."

"That's because I am able to cut off the flow of my aura that's connected to Yoru, so she is unable to use it unless I allow her to. Something no King before me has been able to do. But she is no less connected to me. Also, it would be dangerous if she had that kind of power and doesn't remember how to use it. You Kings are fools if you think you're in full control of your power. Allow me to say this to your clansmen : beware of your Kings. If they discover how to you use their power's full potential, you might not be safe anymore."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Growled Rikio.

"Unlike you, we don't consider our clansmen to be our servants, Purple King." Said Shiro with a calm yet cold voice.

"Servants? Certainly not. You should know that all my clansmen have asked me for the power of the purple aura. They asked for servitude. And that includes, Yoru."

I once more was completely frozen. I was a clansman? His clansman? The pressure on my mind was awful. I didn't want to hear this, not again. Why did everything he say sound so right and so wrong at the same time. Of course he noticed.

"What's wrong? Is it that bad to know that I'm that deeply engraved inside your flesh?" He whispered in my ear.

"Shut up..." I begged.

"Does it scare you to feel me under your skin?"

"Stop it..."

His grip on my shoulders tightened. "I told you that you belonged to me."

"SHUT UP!"

My hands moved on their own. I grabbed Saru's knife once more and shoved it in between his ribs. He didn't scream, or moved back. His blood quickly leaked from his body onto the knife and then in my hands. I quickly took my hands away and backed off. But it was too late. My hands were already covered in blood. Ryu chuckled before taking the dagger out of his side and tossing it aside.

"I applaud you for the guts my Yoru. I'd like to say it hurts, but unfortunately, pain is no longer a sensation for me."

I was paralyzed. Had I really just stabbed him with the intent to kill just now? I couldn't stop staring at my bloody hands. Who was this guy that could push me like that? Keiji took a step forward and grabbed one of my wrists again. But the moment he seized it, his own seemed to suddenly bend backwards. He grunted and backed away as if receiving an electric shock. Then I felt something grab my shoulders from behind. I blinked once, and found myself sitting on the ground next to Shiro. I looked around me, more confused than ever. Shohei and Yo knelt down next to me and asked if I was alright.

"What just happened?"

Ryu sighed once more and his eyes were screaming annoyance. "It seems that uninvited guests just keep showing up."

"Sorry for being late." Said a familiar voice.

"Ome? Where are you?"

Her figure appeared out of thin air. She smiled at me. "Sup'? Sorry for the delay, I was waiting for the right moment to get you out."

"You can become invisible? Since when?"

"I told you that once I have enough energy stored, I can convert it into anything. Enhancing my senses and reflexes are a breeze. Being invisible however takes a lot more energy." She explained as if I were a student sitting in a classroom going through a lesson. She turned to the Purple King.

"I'd say nice to meet you, but I don't like waisting manners on scumbags, Ryu Karasuno. You might want to give up now. Someone's really pissed and just waiting for you to make a wrong move to kill you. If you want to stay alive I suggest you answer our questions." She said as cheerfully as ever, looking at Mikoto. The Red King was indeed surrounded by his aura.

Shiro spoke again. "You have nowhere to run, Sixth King."

"HAHAHAHAHAH! Run? You must be kidding. I'm the one who will not let you escape, your Highnesses." His eyes glowed purple again. Then he raised his arm and a ray of purple aura escaped from it to form some sort of gigantic barrier around the mansion. It screamed danger. And at the same time, high in the sky appeared a sword of Damocles.

"This is why you should never attack an enemy without knowing his power. Trying to destroy this cage with your auras will only strengthen it. Also, for all of you non-kings, you should start feeling dizzy soon. The barrier also feeds on other auras. Using it will only result on you passing out sooner."

"Don't worry kitten, you're safe." Said Keiji. "The purple Clan can't be harmed by this."

A couple clansmen from all three clans tried activating their aura, but the few sparks they were able to summon disappeared instants after appearing. And one by one the red and blue clansmen started looking pale. Some of them were visibly sweating. As if something was poisoning the air. The worst ones were Neko and Ome. The cat girl immediately fainted in her King's arms and the doctor fell down to her knees and looked like she was having trouble breathing. The only ones that looked alright were the three Kings and Kuroh, for some reason.

"You should have listened to me." Continued Ryu. "Hurry up and make up your mind. This barrier will eventually suck their life energies out once they're out of aura."

'It makes no sense at all. When Keiji and Akihiko used the aura, they moved the earth to bring us back to the property. The first time Ryu used his aura, he cut me without using anything other than his barehands, and now he can suddenly make a barrier pop out of nowhere. And an aura absorbing one, none other. His power seems to come in conveniently with every situation. No wonder he's so over confident. What in the world is the power of the Purple King?'

"If you die, there shouldn't be a problem." Stated Mr. Mikoto before running towards Ryu, who grinned at the Red Kings reaction. He raised his fist to punch the thin man, his flaming aura dancing on his arm. He aimed for Ryu's face, but the thin man stopped his fist an inch before he could touch him and without any difficulty. Everyone stared in awe. How could such a thin guy be that strong. The Purple King smirked at Mr Mikoto. That made him even more terrifying.

"Have you ever felt your own burn, Red King?"

Mr Mikoto's flames suddenly turned purple and the Red King quickly jumped back, holding his arm. The sleeve of his jacket was fuming and burned at certain places. He hadn't even let out a sound of pain. The Red King and his clan were famous for having a short fuse and recklessly attacking no matter who the opponent was. If he jumped back on his own, then it meant he felt the threat Ryu posed. The Blue King unsheathed his sword, the blade glowing with the blue aura, and Shiro raised an arm protectively as if ready to summon his aura.

"It's useless to fight me. You don't stand a chance." Stated Ryu.

'Now he can turn another Kings power against him? Just how many aspects is there to the purple aura? Mr Munakata's power revolves around making barriers and use is as solid blades to attack. Mr Mikoto's aura is used like flames. And from what I've seen, Shiro's silver aura can manipulate gravity. Is it even possible for a King's aura to manipulate so many different things? Or maybe? Could it be...?'

"Don't you all see how useless all of this is? You won't defeat me, not while I can manipulate your own powers against you like that. Admit defeat and leave... or stay and die."

"It's impossible..." I muttered.

"Did you say something my Yoru?" Asked Ryu.

"Quit talkin' shit!" Growled a certain red clansman.

"Yata!" I exclaimed. HOMRA'S skateboarding captain had regained consciousness and was attempting to get to his feet. I ran to his side to help him but he didn't accept my help and walked slowly over to the three Kings to face Ryu with them.

"You again? I thought you'd finally died." Said Ryu disappointed.

"What right do you have talkin' about family after what you did to her? You say we don't know how much she's worth? You put a price on her like she's some kind of rare animal. You make me sick! You say your her guardian but instead of protecting her, you chain her up. I'm so pissed I want to bash your stupid face in and feed your body to the crows. I've never wanted to kill someone this badly." He said, internally fuming.

Ryu sighed. "Talk about useless blabbering. You have no chance against me, red clansman..."

"You think we give a damn about your shitty power and your threats? It doesn't matter if you got fancy trick. If we all drop dead for the sake of protecting our comrade, it won't be without fighting with everything we've got, to the last drop of blood. No matter how you look at it, all of us came for one thing only today. We got a fuckin' good purpose here! We're gonna to set Taiga free from you! And wanna know how much she's worth : she's priceless... 'cause we love her!"

I froze and stared at Yata. His eyes were still throwing daggers at the Purple King and the wind making his hair dance made him look … so cool. I'd never expected him to say something like that. It was so... out of character. If this had been just a normal day at HOMRA, Yo and the others would have probably teased him. But all the other red clansmen, despite looking pale and being dizzy, stared at the Purple King with the same determination as Yata. They approved. 100%. Something broke inside me, and I once more felt tears of happiness escape my eyes. Knowing that people love you is great. Having them declare it to you like that is so much better. 'I love you too you guys. All of you.' I thought. I suddenly felt an ominous pressure in the air. My eyes automatically turned to Ryu. This time, hate and anger were more than visible on his face. I could almost see him tremble with rage.

"Die, you worthless dog." He said, with a cold voice full of murder intent.

Everything went so fast. Ryu's eyes turned purple again and I didn't hesitate. As he raised his arm to fire a ray of purple aura towards Yata, I ran up to him as fast as I could and pushed him out of the way. The ray hit me straight in the chest. But I felt nothing. But when I looked at my chest, five very thin purple thread linking me to Ryu. The threads were leaving his fingers of one hand. He slowly contracted his finger. I suddenly felt something squeezing my heart inside my chest. The fear, pain and surprise made me fall on all four. My breathing got heavy and sweat dripped from my face.

"Taiga!" Called out many voices.

"Make one move and I rip her heart out of her chest." Threatened Ryu.

Everyone froze. Even Mr Mikoto and Mr Munakata looked tensed. My heart rate accelerated drastically, and I felt like I could die any second.

"Come here, Yoru." Said Ryu pulling on the strings. The pain made me stand up. I started walking slowly towards them. I didn't want to. But every time I stopped, my guardian pulled on the strings making me walk, manipulating me like a puppet. Even my vision got blurry and only one thought was traveling through my mind : 'I don't want to die.' I walked until I was only a meter away from the Purple King... Then a red aura shaped like a whip dashed through the air out of nowhere and severed the purple thread. I instantly felt the pressure on my heart leave me and once more fell to my knees catching my breath. I looked behind me. Mr Kusanagi had his lighter out, and making it work like a whip was one of his fighting style. I'd never seen him do it though.

"Now, Ome!"

The doctor strain was suddenly standing next to me and grabbed the back of my shirt, she pulled me with her towards the group with incredible speed. While she did that, Shiro dashed passed us, heading towards Ryu at full speed. Keiji and Akihiko both drew their weapons and were about to block his way, but instead, Akihiko's blades met Kuro's.

"I will be your opponent, mercenary." Stated the young samurai.

And Keiji's bullets met Fushimi's daggers.

"I don't fall twice for the same tricks." Saru said angrily.

Ryu, with a panicked expression raised his hand to summon his aura, but it was too late. Shiro pushed his arm out of the way with his umbrella and hit him in the stomach with the palm of his hand. The Purple King was pushed back a couple meters, without falling though. Then Shiro, surrounded by his Silver aura, pointed two fingers towards Ryu. He also got surrounded with Silver aura and looked confused. But when the Silver King pointed his fingers towards the ground, Ryu fell to his knees and hands, as if he was pulled down by force, keeping him from getting up. 'That's the power of gravity. Amazing.' Meanwhile, Saruhiko kicked Keiji's gun out of his hand and kicked him in the stomach before pushing him against the railing and twisting his arm in his back.

"I told you it wouldn't work twice. Stupid."

Akihiko, found himself kicked to the ground and with Kuro's blade at his throat.

"Surrender, purple clansman. You're master's been defeated."

"Well, aren't we in a pinch? This isn't fun at all, right Aki?"

"Shut up, Keiji."

I couldn't believe my eyes. I wasn't able to look away. Everything had gone so fast, like a choreographed attack planned in advance. I was stunned. They were so strong. Especially Saru and Ome who were having their auras sucked out by the barrier. All of them, so in sync. Despite being from different clans and not getting along. I guess that's what it meant to be a pro team fighter. Or just comrades fighting together. The important thing though was that it was over. We'd won. I sighed in relief.

"Oi! Taiga! Are you alright?" Said Yata that knelt down next to me. "Can you breath alright?"

"Yeah...don't worry... I'm okay. What about you? I thought you were on the verge of death."

"My head hurts like crazy and I feel like it weights a ton. Guess that means I'll have to go see a doctor after all."

"The presence of his King is giving him more energy." Ome Explained. "You're still gonna need a blood transfusion after this though."

"Damn it."

"Let's finish the important stuff first."

"Let me burn his face off." Said Mikoto staring at Ryu.

"Suho, I still need him for questioning. If violence is necessary, Scepter 4 shall take care of it on it's own."

"Now, now calm down you two." Said Shiro.

"Wait." Said Ome. "I still need him for something. This scumbag knows a lot about you, Taiga. This is one chance in a million to get your memory back. What do you want to do?"

"Yes, my Yoru. What do you want to do?" Said Ryu who was suddenly smiling again.

I gulped. I didn't want to know. I didn't want to remember anything about this man. But he knew other things. Important things. And I wanted to know those. But the simple thought of remembering that I'd been happy with this guy was frightening me but I had to do it. Saru and Yata had nearly died to help me. I had to see this through and put an end to this ridiculous fighting. I looked at Ome and nodded.

"Good."

She suddenly pocked me in the arm...with her claw out and pierced my skin.

"OW! Damn it, Ome!"

She licked my blood off her finger, which really kind of creeped me out.

"EW! Gross!" Said Yata. "What's your problem, you crazy weirdo strain!"

"I'm connected to her. I can make the memories flow from him to you, by serving as a mediator."

The strain stood up and walked over to where the purple King was. She looked at him for a moment without saying anything. Then she raised her hand and her claws came out. She placed it on Ryu's head, slightly piercing his skin with the claws in the process. She closed her eyes, her grey aura surrounded her, making her hair float in the air. All of the sudden, it felt like my brain was going to explode. An immense pressure in my head appeared. I could see images, hear sounds... I was remembering. But it was so fast, so nauseous... I grabbed my head in my hands and let out a painful grunt.

"OI!" Shouted Yata at Ome. He aura, disappeared and she looked at me.

"No, don't stop." I said, panting. "I'll never have the guts to do it again if we stop. Give it back to me. All of it. Give me my memory back Ome!"

She nodded and her aura appeared again. The pain in my head started again, but I endured it. I had to. Because for their sake, for what they'd done to me...I had to know.

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 **WOO! Talk about massive rescue party! But are you ready to hear about out dear Taiga's past, no matter how sad and dark? And what about the real power of the purple king? No? Okay keep reading! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	15. Chapter 15 : Revelation and Deception

**Hey guys! Sup? Here is finally the chapter you've all been waiting for! We finally learn about Taiga's past! Hope you like it!** **Enjoy with all your might!**

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 **Yata's POV**

I don't think I've ever seen anyone in that much pain in my entire life. She was squirming on the ground, shaking and grunting, biting her lips until they bled to keep herself from screaming. Sweat drops were dripping from her face, and she was grasping her hair like she wanted to rip her head off. I couldn't stand that sight. Why? Why was it always her? Since the beginning it had been her... The hospital, the amnesia, the kidnapping, the torture... She took it all in. No one else had suffered. Why her? It made me wanna puke. She didn't deserve that. She was too...kind. It was a different kind that Mr Mikoto, but it was... just as good. I clenched my teeth.

"Damn it! Ome! Hurry it..."

I stopped when I saw that the doctor strain's face was also dripping with sweat. She was in pain too. She was probably seeing what Taiga was seeing though. Shit. I punched the ground with my fist and felt myself tremble with rage.

'Why can't I do anything? Even through all of that, you couldn't stop thinking about us instead of yourself. Why can't I do anything for you? Damn it all, Taiga!'

I didn't notice Saru looking at me. He walked over to Ome, after leaving that gun holding strain freak in the hands of the lieutenant and placed a hand on the shoulder of the visibly exhausted strain. His blue aura surrounded him and I could see it travel towards Ome and turning into grey aura. She suddenly seem to regain balance and straightened up her back.

"Thanks." She said without turning around.

"Are you done yet?" Asked the monkey. For the first time there was worry in his voice. He sounded pissed. "Unlike you, she can't absorb more energy. I'm not sure she can take much more of this."

"I've gone back pretty far. I'm almost done."

"By all means, take your time." Said the purple King, chuckling. "I never get tired of watching my Yoru struggle."

"Shut up." Snapped back the strain, never loosing focus. Her aura suddenly got brighter and the bastard seemed to be I pain as well. At that exact moment, Taiga let out an intense scream and her body curled up as if trying to protect herself from something. Tears escaped her closed eyes and she kept grunting painfully. I clenched my teeth. The sight of that rose tattoo on her back made me want to burn the fucking thing off. I placed a hand on her shaking shoulder, feeling completely powerless. Worst feeling in the world. As soon as I did that, her hand grabbed mine and squeezed it like crazy. I felt it. Her pain. Through her cold hand, wet with sweat. Well, not really. I wasn't feeling it directly exactly. But the way she was fighting it, keeping herself from screaming... I could

tell she was scared. She squeezed my hand even tighter and then I couldn't take it anymore. I was ready to scream when Ome's aura suddenly disappeared and Taiga's body relaxed. She was still shaking like a leaf in the wind though. The strain pulled her claws away from the Purple King's head and smiled, before turning towards the Kings.

"Watch out for her." She said before her body gave in and she passed out. Saru caught her before she could hit the ground. I turned back to Taiga. She wasn't moving and her hand had let go of mine.

"Oi, Taiga? Are you alright? Talk to me. Taiga!"

She slightly moved and slowly got to her knees, keeping her head down. She turned her head towards me. I froze up when I saw her face. An ocean of tears was falling out of her eyes. I didn't know until now that it was possible to cry so much. But she wasn't sobbing. Just staring with her golden eyes filled with shock and sadness. She forced a smile onto her face and said. "I remember."

She let herself fall forward and her head landed on my shoulder. Those words crushed my heart. I felt her tears wet my shoulder. I didn't want her to feel that anymore. My response was automatic. I slowly placed my arm around her, holding her as gently as I could. Damn it, I was getting pissed. What did that guy do to her? Everyone just stayed quiet for a couple minutes until that bastard spoke again.

"Did you remember the painful things too, my Yoru? I told you that I didn't lie."

"Shut your trap, you damn son of a bitch!" I shouted.

Taiga suddenly got up and wiped the tears off her face. There was still pain in her eyes, but also determination now. I got up to as she started walking closer to the Purple King. She stopped next to the Silver King and without breaking eye contact with the him, spoke.

"Let him go, please Yashiro."

"WHAT?" Said everyone in unison aside from the Kings.

"Are you sure?" Replied the Silver King very calmly.

She nodded without breaking eye contact with the bastard. But the old man seemed reluctant to just let him go. Frankly I was too. She was crying a minute ago, but now she was unreadable. But he let him go anyways. All of us got ready to engage. Ryu stood up and wiped the dust off his sleeves like it was nothing. A flash of purple lit up his eyes for a second... and then Taiga's tattoo started taking color, slowly being stained with the purple aura. When the three roses were fully stained, the aura surrounded her body, like fog dancing around her. The Purple King chuckled.

"You look so scary my Yoru. I think it's the first time I've seen you this angry. Do you remember now? How happy you were with me?"

She just remained quiet and stared at him. Now there was a mixture of anger and extreme sadness in her eyes. She clenched her fists and was trembling. A long moment of silence went by, with no one saying anything. Until the Blue's King spoke again.

"This stare off is getting us nowhere, girl." Said Reisi Munakata. "Tell us. Who are you really? And what did he want with you?"

"Don't ask her difficult questions like that, Blue King." Said Ryu, smirking evilly. "Yoru is trying so hard to control herself right now. She is remembering the day I took something away from her... aren't you my Yoru?"

Taiga's eyes widened and she clenched her teeth really hard. "Yo." She called out. "Can I borrow that?"

Chitose looked surprised and without waiting for him to answer, Taiga grabbed the metal rod from his hand. The piece of metal got surrounded by purple aura and seemed to shrink in her hands and turn into something liquid. But instead of dripping out of her hands, the liquid surrounded her fingers and extended further, shaping like long claws and suddenly solidified again. I was stunned.

'Is that the power of the purple aura?'

"All of you." She said. "Stay the hell out of this."

She started running fast and head first towards the Purple King. She raised her clawed hand and tried to hit him at face level. The still smirking man moved to the side just enough to avoid her hit. She launched herself at him none stop, like an angry beast. Like she was really trying to kill him. But he just dodged her attacks, not breaking a sweat. The guy was actually laughing at her.

"HAHAHA! I can't believe you. You know you're never going to hurt me, yet you still try your hardest."

"I'm not trying to hurt you!" She shouted back. "I'm trying to kill you!"

She couldn't win this fight, that much was obvious. She also didn't mean a word of what she said. I started running towards them to at least get her out of there, but the Silver King extended an arm and stopped me.

"She can't win, old man! We have to do something!" I shouted.

"I know, but the Purple King doesn't seem to want to hurt her. Right now, she's taking care of something personal. None the less, Mr Munakata, Mr Mikoto, please stand ready to intervene if necessary. We still don't know what the Purple King is capable of."

"Tch." I growled and looked at Taiga again. The moves she was using were the ones she learned with us. She was super agile, but that wasn't enough to beat one of us, so she didn't have much chances against the bastard. But just as the old man said, he wasn't fighting back, just cleverly dodging. She once more raised her hand to hit him in the face, but this time he raised a hand and caught each metal claw in between his fingers.

"Kill me? We both know that's not what you're after, my Yoru. And besides..." The purple fog appeared around his hand and the metal claws broke. "Trying to kill a King when you aren't one is stupid. Especially since the power you're using is my own. There are no tricks that you can pull against me that I don't know of. That's just how well I know you."

Taiga clenched her teeth once more and looked at the ground. "Why? Why did you do it, Ryu? I don't understand... What did you want with me from the beginning?"

"Who knows?" He simply replied shrugging.

She inhaled and turned red with anger. Before grabbing him by the shirt and pushing him back until he tripped and fell down on his back. Taiga landed on top of him never letting go of his shirt. And this time when she spoke again, tears fell out of her eyes one more time.

"DAMN IT RYU! WHY? You were one of the most important person in the world to me. You could have asked me for anything! What did you want from me that required you to MURDER MY MOTHER?!"

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 **Taiga's POV**

Everyone was staring at us, frozen but I couldn't care less. I wanted to know...why this guy I thought so fondly of... that man I'd considered my closest friend and my savior... why had he betrayed me like this. Ryu's smirk turned into a sympathetic smile and he brought one hand up to my cheek to wipe of my tears. I stared at him without blinking waiting for an answer.

"Tell me, my Yoru. Do you think it's possible for someone to be always 100% right about everything when guessing?"

"Stop talking in riddles and give me a straight answer, already!"

"Not very nice to shout at the guy who you want answers from."

I growled in frustration. "No, of course not. It's impossible to always be right. Hold on a minute..."

"You finally realize? You don't have an unusually good intuition, my Yoru. You KNOW what's going to happen."

I froze for a second. "But that's impossible. I'm not a strain or anything... And your power doesn't work like that either..."

"Did you ever wonder why you didn't share Kyoko's last name?"

"It's my father's last name, you know that. He died before I was born."

"That's what Kyoko told you, my Yoru. Tell the black dog what your full name is. He should know right away."

"What are you talking about, Ryu Karasuno?" Asked Kuro, frowning in mistrust.

I looked at Kuro. "My name is Yoruichi Miwa."

Kuro and Shiro's eyes widened in disbelief and they looked at each other. "Impossible..." Muttered the young samurai. "You couldn't be..."

"You know who my father is?" I said, stunned.

"The name of the previous Colorless King's predecessor was Ichigen Miwa." Explained Shiro. "He was Kuro's master and adoptive father. So that was her link to him."

"Why would mom lie to me?" I muttered to myself.

"Ichigen Miwa's power was to see into the future. Does that remind you of anything?"

"You don't mean..."

"Exactly. Your power was inherited. The only difference with your father is that you can only see a couple seconds ahead. That and the fact that you don't really decide when to use it. "

So that was how I'd been able to help Yo, Saru and Yata. I was the daughter of a King that could predict the future? That sounded … logic. "But, descendant of Kings aren't suppose to get power through blood ties. How is that possible?" Asked the Blue King looking confused.

"Kyoko never gave me the details. She just said that her lover foresaw an ill-fated future for his daughter if he stayed with them. But my guess is that he did something so that you would be able to manipulate a bit of his power. I guess in the end we will never know for sure." Said Ryu.

"Mom was the one who told you all of that?"

"She trusted me. When I became King, she told me all her secrets and asked me to look after you. Which I did. I thought that with time your power would grow."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It all made sense but... it was just a lot to take in all at once. But there was still one thing that wasn't clear. The one thing I desperately wanted to know. "I still don't get it. Why did you kill her? What did she ever do to you?" I asked, scared of his answer.

"Don't get me wrong my Yoru, I loved Kyoko even more than my own mother. And I'll always be grateful to her for what she's done for me."

"Then why, damn it?!"

"Because I couldn't let her take you away. That would have been a problem for my plans."

"Take me away? What are you talking about?"

"You knew that your mom had been offered a job in America right? The night she died, she invited me over for tea, to tell me that she had accepted the job and that she was going to take you with her. She wanted to thank me for everything I'd done for you. I just couldn't let that happen, now could I? Don't worry though, her death was painless."

I froze for a long moment, staring at him with a look of complete disbelief on my face. Then I let go of his shirt and got off of him to stand back up. Strength had abandoned my arms but my entire body was shaking.

"That's it? That's all there is to it?" I asked. Ryu gave me a confused look. My breathing got heavy with rage. "You killed my mom... for the ridiculous reason... of being able to predict... a couple seconds ahead of everyone else? THAT'S IT? Mom died... for a stupid reason like that?!"

"Damned son of a bitch!" I heard Yata curse.

Such a ridiculous thing... I felt my blood boil inside. I couldn't feel myself breath anymore. My own rage was choking me and I wanted to scream so badly.

"Or maybe... I was lying to you right now." Said Ryu.

I looked up. The Purple King stood back up and gave me the same sympathetic smile as before. It freaked me out and made me angrier at the same time. The nice Ryu I'd always known was long gone. He'd probably never even existed to start with. So what did he want now?

"Maybe that was just the excuse I used to keep my pride intact. Maybe what I really want is you and nothing more, my Yoru. After all, even before I became a King and learned about your gift, you were the only thing that could make me smile. You are the only thing, I'm unwilling to sacrifice for my project."

My eyes widened in shock.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

" _Hi there! You're new around here, right? I was just wondering if everything was alright. You're always sitting alone here. Is something wrong?"_

" _So what? Are you here to suck up to me? Like all the others that come near me."_

" _Why would I suck up to you? I don't know who you are. You're just always sitting here and look sad so I thought I'd try to be friends with you."_

" _And what do you get from that?"_

" _A new friend! Everyone is different so it's great to be friends with a lot of different people."_

" _It's better to be alone when you know you're gonna meet people are going to try to use you because of your money."_

" _But you can't find the right people if you stay alone all the time, can you? I'll tell you what, be my friend and I promise, with a blood oath if you want, that I'll never ask you for anything! Are you willing to try that deal?"_

 **End of flashback**

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"Ha...haha...hahahahahahaha...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I couldn't stop myself. The stress on my mind and internal pressure were too strong for me to control myself anymore. My nervous laughter made my entire body shake, even my insides were trembling. I could feel my heartbeat taking an incredibly fast pace. In that moment, I would have think it possible for me to have a heart attack. Tears were still flowing out of my eyes at the same time. My stomach was hurting so much from me laughing that I thought my abs were going to explode. I wasn't getting nearly as enough oxygen as I should. I don't how long I stood there laughing while everyone was staring at me, wondering if I'd finally gone insane. Ryu was the only one looking at me with a smile, as if my acting like this was the most natural thing in the world. I wanted to order my body to move and go murder him, but my brain was so confused. My movements were sloppy and I couldn't even bring myself to take a step forward. I thought I was going mad for real... until I felt something warm against me, holding me tightly.

"Oi. Calm down, okay Taiga? Everything's alright."

Yata was holding me tightly against him, his arms around my shoulders. I stopped laughing and breathed heavily. I finally calmed down, looked down and took a minute to catch my breath. My head was spinning from the lack of oxygen. Even my cheek muscles were sour from the smiling so much. I let all my muscles relax and finally stopped shaking. I took a deep breath, before he let go. It was like the rage had vanished, consumed by his warmth. I looked at the red clansman. Before saying : "Thanks."

He let go of me and I turned to Ryu one more time. Thanks to Yata, I felt like I could talk without loosing it now."Was that a confession, Ryu?"

"Of course, my Yoru. It's been like that for quite some time. But I wanted to finish what I'd started before telling you anything."

I quickly walked towards him, grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him towards me... to give him the hardest punch I had in store right in the face. So hard he actually started bleeding from the mouth. He backed of a couple steps, but never stopped smiling.

"You've turned out quite violent, my Yoru. Seems the Red Clan really has had a bad influence on you..."

"You're an idiot, Ryu. You're an idiot for turning into a cold blooded murderer and a power thirsty bastard. That's why I don't believe a word of what you're telling me right now."

"You are still calling me a liar? Even after remembering that everything I told you from the start was true? I guess stubbornness doesn't die."

"You can't love me Ryu, it's impossible. I'm nothing more than a freaky person with strange powers that you want to keep in a glass box. That's not love. That's obsession."

"It's your right to refuse my love. I'm only saying that it is going to be a lot more painful for you like this."

"You know something? That day, a month ago... do you know why I disobeyed you and went to the mansion's basement to find you, even though you told me to never set foot there?"

"As I said, I've wondered why such a good girl suddenly did that. Have I acted suspicious by any chance?"

"That's not even it. Your act was perfect. I still believed you were the kind, gentle Ryu I met all those years ago. I was living a dream. Turns out now that Ryu never existed. Or he disappeared when you became King. Who knows? But I still believed it. I went to the undergrounds to find you, because I'd finally made the decision to tell you how I felt."

This time he stopped smiling and his eyes widened in astonishment. "That's right. I was in love with you Ryu."

"YOU WERE WHAT?" Shouted Yata.

I ignored him and continued. "I'd finally decided to tell you. And then, I saw what you were doing and I heard you talking about murdering my mom. Looking back now, I'm glad I saw the truth before I told you. It kept me from being completely trapped by you."

He stared at me for a long minute before answering. "Is that really what you think? You have no idea how strong your ties to me are, do you, Yoruichi? You're my clansman. That means I've branded myself into your mind and body alike."

"You're a pathetic man Ryu. It's sad to see how far you've fallen."

"Say what you want. Even when you lost your memory, I was still so present in your mind, wasn't I? That is one thing that will never change. As long as you have those three roses on the back, you'll always be at my mercy. Because you have nowhere to run and you have no one else. And you don't have the guts to detach yourself from me." The words came out of his mouth dripping with arrogance. I clenched my teeth. Why was he so good at irritating me? How did … my Ryu become like that? It was truly pitiful. The worst though, was that part of what he was saying was true.

"That's where you're wrong, Ryu Karasuno." Said Yashiro. "Look around you. No matter what you think, they all came here for the purpose of helping her."

"You mean all of you that I'm about to wipe out?"

Saru clicked his tongue. "Overconfident bastard." He muttered.

"I find you quite arrogant thinking you can defeat three kings while you are so lowly ranked." Said Mr Munakata readjusting his glasses.

"Do not underestimate me Blue King." He snapped frowning at Mr Munakata.

"I can cut my ties with you Ryu. And I will."

I walked away from him and placed myself facing Mr Mikoto. Yes. Another King could do it. And I wanted him to be the one. I looked at him in the eyes. "Mr Mikoto?"

"Hm?"

I bowed as low as I could. "Please, burn the purple stigma off my back."

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 **HUUUHHHHHH? Taiga! What the hell? What will Mikoto do? And... how will Ryu react to that? (And how will Yata react to another man confessing to Taiga?) AND WHAT THE HELL IS THE PURPLE AURA'S POWER? Wanna know? Keep reading! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	16. Chapter 16 : Dyed

**Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry for the tardiness! Midterms are** **awful! Anyways hope you'll enjoy this latest chapter!**

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"Mr Mikoto." I bowed as low as I could. "Please, burn the purple stigma off my back."

A moment of silence went by before I heard Ryu's hysterical laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHAH! You think it's that easy, do you? To break the chains that bind you to me? How desperate are you, Yoru? HAHAHAHA!"

I frowned but ignored him and remained head down. I didn't want to look at him. I just wanted someone to help me. Yes I was desperate. It's not like I wanted to have my back scorched by the red aura. But it was so much better than having Ryu under my skin. The man I'd admired all my life, even loved, had stabbed me in the back and that was more painful than anything else. My Ryu was gone. Only a power thirsty monster remained. And I didn't want to be tied to that. Mr Mikoto was looking at me with lost eyes.

"Are you sure kid?" He asked.

"Mr Mikoto!" Shouted Yata in protest.

"Boss, you can't be serious!" Added Shohei.

"Hold up, Mikoto." Said Mr Kusanagi. "We don't even know if that's possible. Burning the stigma might not make the power disappear."

"It won't." Quickly said Saru. "I've tried that. All it does is give you a scar and the stench of burned flesh for weeks. And I can still use the red aura."

"Well technically speaking you didn't burn it off completely..." Said Lieutenant Awashima. "Could it work if the entire stigma was erased?"

"Silver." Called out Mikoto. "What do you think? You're the expert when it comes to aura, Mr first king."

Shiro grabbed his chin with his hand. "Truth be told, I don't know. But I wouldn't bet on it. I've never even heard of a King taking back the power he gave to a clansman. Even when a King dies, his power is still active in his clansmen."

"You see, Yoru?" Continued Ryu. "Even if I die, you wouldn't be able to escape my grasp. Face the truth already. You're not free anymore."

I clenched my teeth but didn't reply. "Please, Mr Mikoto. Give it a try. If not to erase that power, just to get this mark off my back!" I begged.

The Red King didn't move for a second at first and then took a step closer to me. I saw him raise his hand, and shut my eyes close, readying myself for the pain that was to come. But it never did. Instead I felt his hand on my head, gently stroking it.

"Eyes up here Taiga." He said with his warm voice, full of kindness and compassion.

I straightened up and looked at him with confused eyes. "I'm not going to bet a world of pain against a less than 100% chance of success for something like this. Look at yourself. You're already more beat up than most people could take." He smiled. "It's not really fair for you to ask me to make you suffer even more."

I looked down. "I don't care about the physical pain..."

"That's a lie and you know it." He interrupted me without even raising his voice. He removed his hand from my head and put it back in his pocket. " Besides, I'm not buying your reason for this. You say you want to cut him off, but I don't believe that."

Now I was the one who didn't understand. How could I not want to cut all my ties with Ryu?

"I can't believe it when you say you want to cut off completely someone that was so important to you. Taking away the power he gave you is not going to do anything for you. It won't heal what's hurting in here."

He pointed his finger towards my heart. And I finally understood what he meant. I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. Tears escaped my eyes as I pictured the old days, with mom and Ryu. My friend Ryu, the one who always cared for me. Before he was a King. Before he knew about my weird power. I clenched my fist over my heart before looking at my hand and summoning the purple fog.

Yashiro smiled at me and said. "That aura is yours. He willingly gave it to you. You can do whatever you want with it. That's not what ties you to him. You want to be free and live without fear just like everyone else. And as I said before, look around you. You have more than enough reason to use that power. Isn't what you want protecting your friends?"

My eyes widened and I looked at the purple fog again. 'I can't use this power to protect myself against Ryu. But I can use it for something else. I'm so selfish. How didn't I think of that? It won't be much help against the purple clan but... against anything else... Maybe I can... stop being the helpless one. I can do something for them. For these people who did everything for me. I can pay them back...'

"You don't have to owe us." Suddenly said Mr Mikoto, as if he was reading my mind. "Whatever it is that you want for yourself from now on Taiga, it's up to you. And if you want our help, we'll give it to you. I just need you to make it clear."

My deepest wish. So many things crossed my mind. Stay with my new friends. Use my power to help them and others. Knock some sense into Ryu's head. Get to know Kuro and my father better. Laugh and learn with Ome. Keep my friends from getting hurt. Stay with Yata. Get to know more about him. Reconcile him with Saruhiko. All of those wishes, could only lead to one conclusion. I had to stay with them. Forever. I smiled and wiped the tears off my face.

"I'm sorry." I said as I sniffed loudly while pushing the tears away. "I guess it was kind of rude of me to ask like that you something like that. "

The Red King smiled and took his hand out of his pocket one more time. He offered it to me. Without an ounce of hesitation I grabbed it... and in a fraction of second, the flames of the red aura were surrounding me. They burned awfully. Yata was right. Somehow, the whole pain seemed to be coming from my chest. My mind went blank, and for a second I forgot where I was and why. I clenched my teeth to keep myself from screaming, but was unable to contain a few grunts. But I never let go of Mr Mikoto's hand. When the pain in my chest reached it's peak, he let go and I tripped and fell to my knees. I panted and waited for the pain to completely disappear. Mr Kusanagi offered me a hand and helped me up.

"Are you alright Taiga? How do you feel?"

"Hot. What just happened?"

"You just officially became one of us." He smiled and looked down. I followed his eyes. On my ankle, on the uncovered skin under the end of my legging, was the HOMRA stigma. My eyes widened. Mr Kusanagi turned to his king and said. "Really Mikoto, you could have asked more clearly. It's kind of mean tricking her like that."

"Who's tricking?" Replied the Red King lazily but with a small smile on his lips.

"Alright!" Shouted Shohei. "Taiga's a real Red now!"

"Welcome, to the clan!" Said Bando, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Yes! Finally a girl joined us! This is the happiest day of my life!" Said Yo, grabbing me around the waist and hugging me from behind.

"Get your hands off of her, you pervert!" Shouted Yata punching him on the head to make him let go.

"Happy you finally joined." Said Kamamoto.

"Welcome to the family, Taiga." Said Eric.

I smiled, while trying to contain the tears of joy that were fighting to escape my eyes. "Thank you, you guys." I muttered with a strangled voice, so much that I think they couldn't hear me.

"How dare you?" Suddenly said Ryu.

Everyone turned back to the Purple King. The purple aura was dancing around him, threateningly. For once, he was visibly angry. And I'd never seen Ryu angry. Mr Munakata unsheathed his sword, Yashiro raised a hand ready to summon his aura and Mr Mikoto frowned.

"It seems you still don't understand Yoru. You think switching clans is going to help you? It just makes me want to destroy them even more. As for all of you persistent pests , you won't..."

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!" I shouted as loud as I could so that everyone could hear me. "Anything he says about his power is a lie, do not believe him!"

"Then you know what the true power of the Purple aura is?" Asked the Blue King without taking his eyes off Ryu.

"There are two sides to it's power. The first is physical. We can alter the shape of an object that we touch at will. The more powerful a clansman you are, the bigger objects you can change. But Ryu can create objects out of his aura alone. The second one, is psychic. If you don't know what Ryu's power is, any suggestion he puts in your mind can become reality." I quickly explained, hoping it made sense to them.

"So he can...what?" Said Yata. "I don't get it."

"Of course _you_ don't get it. Idiot." Sighed Saru. "If you think his power is to be able to stop your heart by looking at you, then that's what gonna happen, dumbass."

"HE CAN DO THAT?"

The blue clansman hit HOMRA's skateboarding captain behind the head, exasperated. "No, Misaki. It's only if you don't know about his power. Pay attention, moron."

"Who're you callin' a moron, you four-eyed monkey?!" Growled back the crow.

"Nice try, Yoru." Said the purple King. "But you really think telling them that will be enough to stop me?"

He raised his arm in the air and in mere seconds, a thousand spears made out of purple aura appeared in the sky above his head. He snapped his fingers and the spears came crashing down, like a rain of mortal needles. Thankfully, Mr Munakata was quicker and managed to form a protective cage around us with his blue aura.

"As I've said before, Ryu Karasuno." He said readjusting his glasses. "A lowly ranked king stands no chance against three."

"Not bad, Blue King. But are you sure you're not forgetting someone?"

The image flashed in my head again. Lieutenant Awashima and Kuro's blood spilling. Those two were guarding Keiji and Akihiko, and were out of the Blue King's barrier. Ryu extended his arms towards them and two more spears dashed towards the two of them. I didn't think twice about it and summoned as much purple aura as I could and hit the ground. 'Please work!' I pictured the roof changing in my mind. "Come on!" I shouted out loud. Part of the roof right in front of them changed form by lifting itself up two meters and making a shield right as the blades were going to hit.

"Lieutenant! Kuro! Get out of there!" I shouted.

The two of them jumped away from their prisoners and returned inside the Blue King's protection range. I remained on the ground and started panting like crazy as sweat was dripping from my face. I was more afraid of what was about to come. But Ryu was just looking at my shield. His anger seemed to have completely vanish. His face seemed almost curious. Then he smiled or rather smirked again.

"Well, would you look at that. It seems that being with these people is pushing you beyond your limits my Yoru. I'm impressed. You've never been able to alter the shape of such a big object before. Very well, I'll let you play freedom a little longer."

I tried standing up, but fell right back on all four.

"Easy now, you might want to stay down a bit longer. Suddenly exceeding your normal aura level like that is quite tiring for a clansman. Don't worry when we see each other again, I will take you back for good. Even if I have to get rid of your new friends one by one." He turned to his clansman. "Keiji, Akihiko. We're leaving now. Our ride is here."

A numberless black chopper appeared in the sky and hovered a little higher than the SCEPTER 4 choppers. The twins picked up their weapons and joined their King.

"And where do you think you're going, Ryu Karasuno?" Asked Mr Munakata.

"You're not getting away." Added Mr Mikoto with a threatening voice.

"I wouldn't even try if I were you. Unless you want your clansmen to go join their ancestors."

I looked up and gasped. Countless more purple aura made spears were floating in the air, pointed at the choppers's propellers. If they touched, the vehicles would crash down. And everyone in them would die.

"You scoundrel!" Shouted the Lieutenant.

"Calm down, Miss Awashima." Said the ever-so-calm Blue King. "Stand down! It seems we have no choice but to let him go for now."

"Wise decision. Glad we see eye to eye, Reisi Munakata. Don't worry though, we'll see each other again very soon and you will get the fight that you want. After all, your problems are far from over." The Purple King chuckled. He pointed his hand towards the ground. Part of it detached itself and started floating in the air. Ryu and the twins stepped onto it.

"What do you mean by that?" Asked Yashiro frowning.

"I'm just saying that the traffic was only a small part of the plan. You might want to keep an eye out for over-active weissman levels. That's all." He looked at me again. "Enjoy yourself while you still can my Yoru. I look forward to see you again."

"Ryu..." I muttered.

The small platform elevated in the air until it reached the chopper. The three men stepped inside and we all waited for the spears to disappear. They only did when the helicopter had gone completely out of sight and the purple sword of Damocles vanished.

"Shouldn't we go after them, sir?" Asked the Lieutenant to her King.

"No. If we send vehicles after them, Ryu Karasuno is most likely to strike them before they even get a chance to see in which direction they are heading." He put his sword back in his sheath. "We'll return to headquarters and try to follow their trails via satellite imaging."

"Very well Sir." She turned to the blue clansmen. "Everyone, prepare to leave at once."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"You should've let me shoot them down." Growled the Red King, lighting a cigarette.

"I need them alive, Suho. Besides, there is no telling if you would have succeeded. This man is a lot more dangerous than he looks. And I suggest you stop complaining if you want a ride home."

"Tch."

I slowly got back to my feet. I'd never used my powers so extensively, let alone to fight. I had no idea it could be this exhausting. I wiped the sweat off my face.

"Are you alright Taiga? Sorry, Yoruichi." Asked Kamamoto. "Need help walking?"

"No thanks Rikio. I'll be fine. Just a little dizzy."

The Blue King approached. "I owe you my thanks, red clansman Yoruichi. For saving my lieutenant."

"And I for saving Kuro." Said Yashiro approaching.

"Yes, thank you very much." Said the ever-so-serious lieutenant, bowing.

The Silver King turned to his katana wielding vessel. "What the matter Kuro? You look preoccupied."

"I'm just... how do I put this? Stunned that Master Ichigen's daughter was near me all this time. Now that I think about it, it makes a lot of sense. You and he have the exact same smile."

All kids who grow up without a dad wonder why they were abandoned and who their father really is. I was no exception to the rule. I smiled."Tell me more about him sometime. About our father." His eyes widened and he looked at me.

Shiro smiled. "That's right. With Ichigen Miwa being your adoptive father, that makes you two practically siblings, doesn't it?"

"Nya! Kurosuke has a sister! Yay! We can invite her for food all the time! I hope her food's as good as Kurosuke's!" Said Neko jumping around, as hyper than ever.

"I'd be honored." Replied the young samurai, with a look of bliss on his face.

"Hey, don't get all comfy with her black dog." Snapped Yata.

"Tsk. Yeah, like you're one to talk Misaki." Said Saruhiko while readjusting his glasses.

"Huh? What's that suppose to mean, monkey?!"

"It means what it means, idiot."

"That doesn't mean anything either!"

"Can you get anymore stupid?"

"Why you... fuckin' monkey!" He shouted grabbing the blue clansman by his shirt.

I tried to keep myself from laughing but couldn't contain it and let it all out. Just watching them bickering was just what I needed to lift my spirits a little more. The two of them looked at me with confused faces.

"Oi, you okay Taiga?"

"I don't remember you getting hit on the head." Said Saru.

I threw myself on them and hugged them both as hard as I could. "Thank you Yata. Thank you Saru. Thank you so much for finding me you guys. Thank you."

Saru looked to the side and sighed. "No need to fuss over it. I just did my job."

Yata blushed madly and couldn't get anything out. I could practically see steam coming out of his ears. "W-wh...I..uh...w-w...uh..."

I let them go and smiled at them. Before turning to the Blue King. "Mr Munakata? I hate to ask, but could you let me borrow a helicopter and a pilot for a little while longer? There are a couple places I'd like to stop by."

"I suppose that can be arranged." Replied the King. "I do owe you. Where is it that you want to..."

We got interrupted by the sound of something falling. I turned around and saw that Yata had collapsed on the ground. My heart skipped a beat and I ran to him.

"Yata! Are you alright? YATA!" His face was paler than a ghost's. I pressed my ear against his chest. His heartbeat was way too fast. "He's lost too much blood! We have to get him to a hospital!"

"Calm down." Said the the Blue King. "We have first aid material on our helicopters. He definitely needs a transfusion. What's his blood type?"

"He's a B." Immediately said Saru.

"Why do you know that?" Asked Shohei frowning.

"It's my job to store data. I just do."

"Creepy man."

"Use mine." Said Mr Mikoto. "I'm the same."

* * *

"Huuuuuuuu." Let out Keiji, looking out the windshield of the helicopter.

"Keiji, for goodness sake, will you stop sighing already?"

"I can't help it Aki. I'm pissed. We were suppose to have her back after this. Why d'you let them keep her boss?"

"Keiji!" Warned the older twin with a threatening voice.

"What? I'm just asking. Besides, she might get caught up in the real thing if we leave her with them. You know I'm right boss."

"And that's precisely why I let her stay. She has an even bigger potential than I expected. This will help her grow a bit more. Besides, these fools won't let her get hurt. She's still the weakest amongst them."

The Purple King plunged his hand in his pocket and dialed a number before bringing the device to his ear. "Nagare? It's Ryu. Just telling you that phase one is complete. SCEPTER 4 is on my trail."

" _Well done, Sixth King. Your assistance is much appreciated."_

"Hey what are old friends for? Although, I also called to warn you about something else. My Yoru is probably going to play your game on the Red's side. You can play with her all you want, but if you leave so much as a scratch on her, you'll have hell to pay. That's all I wanted to say."

" _I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Thank you for the warning."_

"No trouble at all. I look forward to your game, Green King."

* * *

 **Ryu's mansion rooftop , Yata's POV**

When I opened my eyes again, I was inside a small room. I realized it was the cabin of a chopper. I blinked a few times and growled. I felt really light headed. Someone was hovering over me.

"Yata? Can you hear me?"

My vision finally adjusted. When I saw a pair of golden eyes, really close to my face and looking at me. She smiled in relief. "You're alright."

When I realized how close she was, I made a brusk move to sit up which resulted in our foreheads colliding. I fell right back down while she crouched to the ground, both of us holding our aching foreheads.

"Ow ow, ow, ow..." She repeated.

"Damn it that hurts!" I growled. "Don't scare people who just woke up like that!"

"Sorry, I was just worried. You were so badly hurt." She stood back up still rubbing her forehead and smiling. "I'm glad to see you're okay."

I felt my face heat up like crazy. I sat up and looked around the room for something to distract me. Damn it! Why was she so damn cute! That's when I saw that I had some sort of tube connecting my arm to an empty plastic bag held up.

"We had to give you a transfusion. You lost too much blood. It's a miracle you were able to stay up this long. Mr Mikoto was the one who gave his blood."

"WHAT? SERIOUSLY?" I suddenly felt revived and as proud as a lion. I had Mr Mikoto's blood in my veins. Nothing could have made me happier.

"You don't have to grin like an idiot, Misaki."

I jumped and turned around to see Saru sitting on one of the choppers benches, also covered in bandages. "What's your problem Monkey? Jealous?"

"Hell no."

"Okay you guys enough." She said, annoyed.

"So hum... Taiga. Sorry, Yoruichi." 'It's gonna take a while to sink in.' "What did I miss?"

"Not much. Most of SCEPTER 4 is gone. Some are on standby to watch over the mansion and the underground lab. Yashiro and Mr Munakata are still here to monitor things. Ome woke up and she's inspecting the cargos. They're waiting for the Strain Society staff to arrive and pick up the merchandise. As for the guys and Mr Mikoto, they're outside."

"So, what now?"

"Mr Munakata left a chopper to get you guys back to Shizume. I've got a couple places I want to go to before I join you."

I frowned. "Where?"

"Around here. There are some people I have to see."

"Who?"

"..."

She didn't reply. I suck at reading people so I couldn't guess what the face she was making meant. But whatever it was, it made her sad.

"Fine don't tell me, but I'm taggin' along."

She gave me a surprised face, which again made me blush so I turned away. "It's too easy to loose you in a big area like this. And that bastard may still be around for all we know. So you can't go alone."

"..." She still didn't say anything.

"If you don't want it to be me that's fine, but you have to take someone."

"No, no. You're right. I shouldn't go alone." Her cheeks turned pinkish and she looked away. "I-I don't mind at all if it's you."

The second she said that, I felt like my face was going to melt off my bones.

* * *

 **Is it just me, or is the story not quite over yet? BTW, next chapter is gonna be a real treat for all of you sick YataxTaiga fans! Hihi, no spoilers! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	17. Chapter 17 : Home and Hope

**Hey guys! It's been a while! Hope your holidays were awesome and that you rested well! I have a message for you at the end so don't forget to read it!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

I was wearing Yata's sweatshirt again. After a long debate with Mr Mikoto and the red clan, it was decided that Saru would be our pilot and that Yata, Mr Kusanagi would come along with me. Ome wanted to tag along as well but she had to take care of the merchandise and inspect Ryu's underground lab. Before we left, the rest of the Red clan gathered around us.

"Bring her back to us in one piece, Yata." Said Kosuke.

"Don't make it sound like something bad happens every time she's with me!" Snapped back the crow.

'You mean the very reason why you tried to stay away from me in the first place?' I thought chuckling.

Mr Munakata, Ome and the Lieutenant approached along with Fushimi. I turned to him. "Thank you again for lending me the helicopter, Mr Munakata."

"Think of it as a way to thank you for helping my subordinate. Before you leave however, would you mind explaining one more time how Ryu Karasuno's power works? I believe Ome would like to see it as well."

I summoned the purple aura around my hand and extended my arm towards the metal claws that Ryu had broken. They got surrounded by the purple fog and levitated in the air towards me. I caught them and started manipulating the shape making a ball out of it.

"Like I said, there's a physical side to this power. I can manipulate the shape of an object. And the stronger I am the bigger objects I can change. Like I did with the roof. I'm not sure I could do that again though. It's exhausting. Also, once we've infused an object with our aura we can manipulated at distance."

"What's the limit?" Asked Ome never taking her eyes off the metal that was constantly changing shapes in my hand.

"I have no idea. But Keiji and Akihiko are able to shift the earth and create landslides. I wouldn't be surprised if Ryu could change the shape of an entire skyscraper. I've never seen use his aura extensively before."

"And the King can create objects with only his aura, correct? Is he the only one who can do that?"

"Yes. I've never seen any other clansmen do it."

"And you said there was a psychic side?" Said Mr Kusanagi. "I'm not sure I got that one."

"If you don't know what his power is, then Ryu will manipulate you into thinking that he possesses the power to beat you no matter what. That's why Mr Mikoto was burned. A single thought about what he says is enough to create any power based on your imagination. It's much more terrifying than the power to alter the shape of objects. He can practically alter reality."

"I see." Said Ome. "This guy is a lot more dangerous than what I thought. Well, we all better get to work before night comes. Be careful on your trip, Taiga. Sorry, Yoruichi right?"

I smiled at her. "Don't worry. It's not like we're going to dangerous places. There are just a few things I need to take care of."

She turned towards Yata. "You better keep her safe, Yata."

He growled. "What's up with everyone? She'll be fine, that's why I'm going!"

"Why, _we're_ going Yata." Rectified Mr Kusanagi. "Let's get going then, shall we Yoruichi?

I nodded. "See you later guys." I said to the red clan before heading towards the chopper that Saru had already turned on. The three of us stepped inside the aircraft and we departed. I went to sit next to Saru in the cockpit.

"So where are we going first?" He asked with his usual monotone voice.

"Kaginuki High." I gave him the coordinates. " There's a huge field you can land on near the school."

"That's your school? What are you going to do there?"

"I have to see to some people. Then I have to tell them I won't be coming anymore." I stayed quiet for a couple seconds. "Do your wounds hurt? They seemed pretty bad..."

"Nothing to worry about. It's part of the job." He quickly replied.

"Hey Saru? I'm so..."

"Don't say it."

"But..."

"I was just doing my job. It had nothing to do with you. I was investigating a lead nothing more. Don't fuss over it." He said with an irritated voice and without ever looking at me. It was obvious he was pissed. I looked down.

"I understand if you're angry. I'm sorry you got pull into my problems."

He clicked his tongue. "We would've clashed with the Purple King sooner or later. It had nothing to do with you."

"But you got hurt because you protected me!" I said raising my voice. "You didn't have to do that!"

His eyes suddenly widened and his face showed anger. He turned to me. He grabbed me by my shirt and pulled me towards him from his seat. I almost fell off mine. Our faces were inches away from each other. He looked really angry but when he spoke, it was almost a whisper. "Will you stop that already? I got hurt because of the choices I made. So stop acting like everything revolves around you. If you had turned out to be involved in all of this, don't think a second I would have hesitated to point my sword at you, Taiga!"

I blinked a couple times. He was definitely trying to get the responsibility factor off my back. He didn't want to owe anyone, but he didn't want anyone to owe him either. He was fighting the attachment that came with the interaction. Without really realizing, I smiled at him.

He frowned. "Why are you grinning like an idiot? I'm not joking."

"It's just... the first time you called me by my name to my face."

His mouth opened a little for a second and then he closed it again, shutting his eyes and sighed. He let go off my shirt and I sat back down properly. He turned back to his control board, with a frustrated face.

"At least let me say thank you for helping me, Saru."

"Hm." Was all I got for a response. "If you ask me it was too easy."

"What are you talking about?"

"The Purple King's trail. It was way too easy to find. I don't see what his goal could be. Even the Strain Doctor didn't find any reason why anyone would want to store up aura like that. Nothing makes sense in his actions." He sighed once more. "I bet this whole story is gonna be one big pain in the ass."

"Ryu's extremely clever. But he's not the type to use his power for world domination or dumb things like that." I said lost in thought.

"How'd you fall for a suspicious guy like him? He's so manipulative, it's visible a mile away."

I flinched and felt my heart accelerate a little. I turned away and looked outside. "I don't know...I just...don't know..."

The blue clansman probably noticed that I was getting uncomfortable because he didn't ask anymore. Memories of Ryu invaded my mind. My nice, always smiling, golden hearted Ryu... And then that new Ryu. The one that claimed to love me and would destroy everything I had gained to get me back... They were two people. Two very different people. One may have never existed and the other one was a sick psychopath. What would I do about that? What could I do about that? I didn't want to think about it. At least not right now. We approached the school after only a couple minutes of flight. It looked so small from up here. With everything that's been going on, I almost forgot what it looked like. Well technically, I did forget. Saru landed in the field I told him about. I stepped out of the aircraft and walked towards the school's entrance. I distinctly remembered a rule that says anyone not wearing a uniform was not aloud inside the school's ground. I looked at the big clock on the school building. 4:00pm. They should be done by now. A couple students started walking out of the main building. I recognized a few of them. Some of them saw me and whispered to themselves.

"Hey, isn't she the upperclassman that went missing a month ago?" Said one.

"What? No way."

"I'm telling you it's her. She's the golden eyed girl from the gymnastic club." Whispered another.

I ignored them and searched for familiar faces. Until I spotted the two of them. Both were walking with two boys that were also familiar. "Juli! Saki!" I called out as they approached the gate.

The two of them looked my way and their eyes widened. I smiled at them. "Hey guys. Nice to see you again." I said.

Juli's eyes filled with tears while Saki's mouth dropped open. Then both of them ran towards me. Saki slapped me. "Where the hell have you been Yoru?! Do you have any idea how worried we were?!" She shouted.

Juli threw herself in my arms and started crying like a baby. "I MISSED YOU SO MUUUUUCH! AHAAA!" She sobbed and Saki hugged both of us as hard as she could.

"I'm sorry guys. It's a long story." I said trying to hold my tears back. I looked at the two boys. "I know you guys. You're Kaito Hajime from class C and you're Alex Wester, the american transfer student." I looked at my friends. "Since when do you guys hang out together?"

Saki slightly blushed and readjusted her glasses. "Let's go sit at the park. It not use staying here."

We went to the small park that was neighbor to our school and went to sit on a bench to chat. It turned out these boys were now my best friends 's boyfriends. Juli had a crush on Alex ever since he transferred in last year and it looked like Saki had finally given in to Kaito that's been begging her to go out with him since the first year of high school. I didn't know these guys well, but they looked good together.

I smiled at them. "You guys better take good care of my girls."

"Can you boys leave us alone?" Said Saki. Once the two boys left, she turned back to me. "Tell us about you. What happened to you Yoru?"

"Ryu was so panicked when he came to tell us you'd disappeared. We were so scared for you." Added Juli.

"Wait, Ryu came to tell you I was missing?"

"Yeah, he wanted to know if we'd seen you. So what really happened?"

I stayed quiet and thought for a minute. I couldn't tell them about Ryu. It would just get them into trouble. If Ryu thought I told them anything, he'd probably use them too. I had to protect them. There were enough people involved in my messed up problems. Plus Saki and Juli weren't capable of defending themselves against clansmen. "I can't tell you guys. All I can say is that my problems aren't over yet. I came to tell you that I'll be living in Shizume from now on."

Their eyes widened once more. "You're leaving? But we just got you back!" Said Juli. "Why can't you tell us?"

"Stop crying Juli." Scolded Saki before turning to me. "You wouldn't joke about something like that. The wounds on your face speak for themselves. Does that mean you're in danger?"

I shook my head. "Not anymore. I've got people watching over me. Maybe they're rough around the edges but they're good."

"Well, you better keep in touch with us to tell us you're all right. We'll be expecting emails at least once a day." Stated Saki, kind of the same way Mr Munakata would.

I was about to reply when …. "OI! TAIGA!"

The three of us turned around to see Yata arriving on his skateboard and stopping next to us. "Don't take off on your own without telling us! Why d'you think we came here for!?"

"Sorry, I sort of forgot." I said with an apologetic smile.

"Hold on a second you! Who do you think you are? And did you call her Taiga?" Said Saki.

"It's alright, Saki. He's one of the people that saved me. This is Yata. He's my bodyguard if you want. Yata, these are my friends, Saki and Juli."

Yata's cheeks suddenly turned pinkish and he looked away. "...S-sup'? I'm Yata."

Juli got closer to him and brought her face really close to his. He stiffened up like a stick. "W-what?" He said.

"Are you Yoru's boyfriend?"

"What?! No!" We both answered at the same time, and my cheeks turned as red as Yata.

"Sorry to bother you ladies." Mr Kusanagi came closer to us. "Taiga we need to get going. Mikoto said he didn't want us to be back too late."

"Right." I got up. "Sorry guys, I have to go. I'll call you okay."

"Already?" Whined Juli. "But you just got here..."

"I'll visit I promise. When it's all over, I'll tell you about it. But for now, it's best that I leave. And if Ryu comes in contact with you, tell me."

Saki turned to Yata and Mr Kusanagi. "I don't know what's going on but you two are shady. You better keep her safe and if she so much as break a nail in your presence, I'll personally come to deliver your sorry asses to hell. You got me?" She threatened, before turning back to me. "And you better be careful!"

Mr Kusanagi chuckled. "Don't worry, your friend is in good hands. Let's go Taiga. Have a pleasant day, _mesdemoiselles_."

I hugged my friends one last time. Juli cried again and Saki warned me about strangers and asked me one last time if the guys were really trustworthy. I said goodbye and we got back to the chopper. I gave Saru the coordinates to the second place I wanted to go to. I stayed silent during the whole ride. The guys were quiet as well. It was probably visible on my face that this was hard on me. Saru landed again in a field and I got off the aircraft with Yata. We walked about half a mile and then the cemetery came in view. I remembered. I always hated cemeteries. To me places like those have a very unsettling atmosphere. Yata waited for me at the gate. I walked in between the tombstones until I reached the one I was looking for.

 _Kyoko Tachibana_

 _Beloved mother_

Beloved Mother. Ryu was the one who had decided to put that on the stone. At the time, I was too shocked and lost to think straight. He probably really did think of mom as a parent too since his were too busy working to care for him. I knelt down. I smiled at the grave, as if I thought mom could see me from heaven.

"Hi mom. It's been a while. I forgot about you. Literally. But I remember now. I learned some crazy things too. Like that my dad was a King. And that he left to protect us from something. And that my good intuition is actually a power passed down to me. I have no clue how to use it, but I'll figure it out, I hope. I made a lot of new friends, mom. Really good friends. They're kind of crazy and really rude but... they have good hearts."

My smile slowly faded from my face. "I still have so many questions, mom. But I don't know who else to ask them too. Was my dad a good husband? Did you suffer when Ryu killed you? Could I have done anything to stop him?"

Tears escaped my eyes but I quickly wiped them off my face and smiled again. "I wish you could meet my new friends. Mr Mikoto is so kind even though he's so scary looking. I wish Anna was my little sister, she's adorable. You don't have to worry about anything, Mr Kusanagi takes good care of everyone. Even though Yo is a womanizer, he's definitely a good friend. I wish he'd stop hitting on me though. Eric is the quietest in the clan, but he always listens when I talk. Rikio's kind of an idiot..."

I talked and talked, going on about my new friends, bragging about them and the other people that were with me now. Mr Munakata. Lieutenant Awashima. Yashiro. Neko. Kuro. Ome. Fushimi. I wanted her to know everything about me.

"Then there's Yata. He's amazing mom. That guy is reckless like nothing I've ever seen. He's hopeless when it comes to talking to girls but he has the biggest heart I've ever seen. Can you believe he hung on to a helicopter while practically empty of blood and energy? Is it possible to be so stupid and stubborn!" I laughed thinking about that, and tears fell out at the same time. "Even though we bicker all the time, he makes me feel kind of weird. It's different than when I'm with the rest of the clansmen. I have no idea how to describe that feeling. But I feel strong, when he's here mom. Like never before. It's like wings grow on my back. And I'm so free. I can do anything."

I stayed there a long time talking to her. Then I heard Yata's phone ring and turned my head. He hung up and waved his arm at me. I nodded and turned one last time to face mom's grave.

"There's so much more I want to tell you, mom. I'll be back I promise. I hope you're at peace with yourself, now that I found your murderer. I love you. Say hi to dad in heaven for me. I bet you would've loved to have Kuro as a son. Unlike me, he always cleans up after himself. We'll talk more soon. Goodbye Mom."

I got up wiped the tears one more time and jogged back to join Yata. I thought he would greet me with a 'you're late', but he said nothing. We walked back silently to the aircraft and we took off again. We reached Shizume faster than I expected and Saru landed his chopper in SCEPTER 4 's garage court. I let Yata and Mr Kusanagi that wanted to speak with Ms Awashima, walk out first and waited for Saru to come out of the cockpit. He gave me his usual slightly pissed off glare.

"Shouldn't you get going?" He growled.

"Saru, I don't care what you say. Thank you for what you've done for me. I'll always be grateful for that." I bowed, as a sign of respect and then straightened myself. "I owe you a big one."

For a long moment he stood there and observed me. I wasn't sure of what I should do, but then he moved and walked towards me. Without realizing, I backed off into a wall. He placed a hand on the wall over my head and looked at me with an almost pained expression on his face.

"S-Saru?"

"Relying on others is stupid and dangerous. That's the principle the red clan stands on. If you stay with them you're going to get hurt again."

"What are you getting at?"

"Join SCEPTER 4."

My jaw dropped and my eyes widened. "What?"

"Here we can find out about your power and teach you how to control it much faster and more efficiently than the red clan ever could. It's also the best way to hide from that psycho of a King."

"..." I replied nothing and Saru took that as a confused reaction. He clicked his tongue in annoyance again.

"HOMRA's a clan for punks who do nothing but fight all day. You really want bounty hunting as a job for the rest of your life? You're an idiot if you think they can shield you from anything. They can't protect you from themselves. You know that, you saw it front row."

An image of Yata punching me in the nose came to my mind. "Saru, I'm not a porcelain doll. I can take what they have. And they won't hurt me intentionally. That's all I need to know."

"Our job is to keep an eye on them. They always bring trouble and we're the ones who clean up after them. They clash with us all the time. You'll have to fight us too. Is that really what you want?"

I looked down and meditated on those words. I guess I stayed silent too long because he suddenly leaned in closer and brought his face an inch from mine. "You still don't get, do you? You enjoy getting beat up or what?"

"I can't." He made a surprised face. "It's not just that I need to be protected. I have to watch over them too. Because they're reckless and idiots." I smiled, teeth out. "They're kind of hopeless without me around."

He stayed quiet for a moment before giving me an almost sad face. "By them you mean, Misaki?"

"Huh?"

He moved back and plunged his hand in his pocket. He took one of his throwing knifes out and held it out without a word. I hesitated then grabbed it. "Thank you Saru."

"Don't say I didn't warn you. If we have to fight, I'll show no mercy."

"I wouldn't want you to, Saruhiko."

He rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue once more. "You two really are the same kind of stupid. Get out of here. I have to get that thing into the garage."

I nodded and walked out. Yata and Mr Kusanagi were waiting for me at the gate. I put Saru's knife in my pocket. And jogged to go join them.

"You sure took your time." Complained Yata.

"Sorry, I was talking with Saru."

Mr Kusanagi smiled. "Let's get going. There are a bunch of guys who are going to complain about food not being ready on time. I guess that's more trouble for me."

I stopped in my track. "Hey can you go on ahead? I'm gonna go for a little walk. I need to clear my head a little."

"Hey. Is everything alright?" Immediately asked Yata.

Damn, why was he so sharp at the wrong moments? Mr Kusanagi spoke before I could. "Go ahead, but don't stay out too late, otherwise Mikoto is going to complain. Anna will want to see you too. Come on Yata." Said the older man grabbing HOMRA's skateboarding captain by the back of the shirt and pulling him behind him.

"Hey, you don't have to pull on me like that! I'm not a dog on a leash, Mr Kusanagi!"

"No, you're just a very slow crow."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

I watched them walk away and then dashed in the other direction. I knew where I was heading, even though I had no particular reason to. It was just the place I was heading to. I ran and ran as fast as I could. And when I reached that place, I was completely out of breath. I looked up. I was near the bridge that went to Ashinaka High School's island. I'd stopped on the trail on the side of the water. No one was around. The ocean's water was glittering with the reflecting sunlight. It was beautiful. I looked around once more to see if anyone was around. Then I felt my body trembling. And out of nowhere, a river of tears escaped my eyes and I started sobbing. I'd finally let go of those unbearable emotions that had been choking me since I'd regained my memories. I tried to shut my eyes close to stop the tears but it was useless. I crouched down and covered my eyes with my hands but the salty liquid still escaped them. I just let it all out. My frustration. My anger. My fear. My sadness. For what Ryu had become. For loosing my best friend and the man I foolishly loved. For my uselessness at bringing him back. That frustrated me even more, because now I knew for sure, that deep in my heart he was still dear. I have no idea how much time passed but when I uncovered my eyes, the water had turned orange from the light of the setting sun.

'I should get going. The guys are going to be worried.'

I got to my knees and turned around to get up and leave, but I froze in my movement. A couple meters behind me, standing and looking at me was Yata. He was looking at me with a mixture of surprise and sadness on his face. All I could do was stare back, as tears were still dripping from my face. I quickly tried to get the water off my face.

"Have you been here the whole time?" My voice still sounded strangled from all the crying.

"I'm not good with girls. Especially when they're crying. I got no clue what to do in this kind of situation. I'm not good with people in general. I'm pretty much an idiot for anything related to thinking." He enumerated slowly. "But..."

He clenched his fists and shouted. "...DAMN IT!"

Before I had time to react, HOMRA's skateboarding captain crossed the distance between us, fell to his knees in front of me grabbed my arm and pulled me against him. His arms circled my waist and he hugged me as hard as he could. I could feel him tremble.

"Why d'you go and suffer alone, idiot! I already told you. If it hurts say something! I can't do anything, but... at least I can listen. D'you have any idea how it feels to watch you cry like that? It makes me wanna kill something!"

His grip tightened so strongly that I flinched in pain. But I didn't want him to let go of me. "I think you've seen me cry enough at Ryu's place..."

"That was different! We were all there. Now you're just crying on your own. It's like your falling to pieces on your own! Who's gonna put you back together if you don't tell anyone?!" He was shouting again.

I smiled to myself and buried my face in his shoulder while wrapping my arms around him as well. He was so warm.

"You don't have to do anything Yata. You've already done everything. As long as you're alright, even if you're not with me, it's enough."

"Well it ain't enough for me if you're not here!"

I froze at the sudden declaration. Did he seriously just say that? I looked up, he was staring into the distance in the horizon's direction. He was dead serious. From where I was, he looked...kingly. His eyes then looked at me, and he suddenly blushed which caused me to do the same, but he didn't let go. 'This is awkward. I have to say something.'

"Yata? You're kind of crushing me..."

He took his arms back quickly and we both sat on the grass, looking at the water, our cheeks still as red as ever. Now that I thought about it, this was the perfect moment to tell him. It was just the two of us. I took a deep breath.

"Yata... There's something I have to tell you. It's kind of awkward..."

He didn't look at me but I saw him tense up. "Well, might as well go for it now..."

"I want to thank you. For everything you did. But also for what you gave me."

"Hold up, when did I give you anything?" He asked confused.

'Of course he doesn't get it.' "I feel stronger when I'm with you. I feel like I'm aloud to get angry and say what's on my mind. I can cry and laugh as much as I want. I have someone I can entrust with my life. So for all of that, thank you."

To my big surprise he didn't blush. On the contrary, he looked at me and gave me a serious look. "I've got a question for you. Do you still like that guy? Don't tell me he's not the reason you were crying."

That was out of the blue. "Ryu was my friend Yata. It's painful to see someone turn on you like that."

"Guess I can understand that." I knew he was referring to Saruhiko. "But that's not what I was asking."

"If you mean romantically, no. I've grown a lot while I had amnesia. I think all I had was attraction to his fake charisma. It was just the fleeting crush of a high school girl. But I did truly love him as a dear friend. If you want, he was my best friend in the world."

"And the way you like us, is it the same?"

It took me a while to reply. "It was so different with Ryu. I felt like the weaker I was, the more he payed attention to me. So I kept up the fragile girl act when I was around him and let him build a cage around me. With you, I feel so strong. Like I can actually fly on my you have my back. Always. I know it. And I truly believe that with you, I'll be able to fly for real. Because you all love me right?" I said reminding him of his speech.

This time he blushed again and sprang up to his feet. "Well, we should go. Mr Kusanagi and Mr Mikoto'll have my ass if I bring you back to late. I've been gone for an hour already."

"Oh, right I forgot about that."

I was about to get up when Yata took a step on a slippery rock. He tripped and having nothing to grab on to, he pushed me down back in the grass and landed on top of me. My breath got cut off for a minute. Yata wasn't big but he wasn't light either.

"Ouch!" Growled the red clansman. "Man, again? Shit, that hurts."

"You can talk, you fell on me!" I said.

We both opened our eyes at the same time and froze. Our faces were barely two inches away from each other. I realized how gorgeous his hazel eyes were. It was a color that suited him perfectly. Despite his usual violent and rude behavior, when he relaxed and his face softened up like now, I could see why his first name suited him so well. There was definitely room for kindness and softness.

"Misaki..." I let out in a whisper as I kept looking at his face.

"Huh?" He let out.

His eyes widened and he opened his mouth in astonishment. He put more space between our faces as if to observe me better. I gasped and quickly put my hands in front of my mouth when I realized he must've heard me.

"Oh, my god. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to call you by your first name!"

He didn't reply but grabbed my wrist and pulled it away from my mouth. He kept eye contact with me and said nothing. He then slowly leaned again, bringing his face (his cheeks were still red by the way) closer to mine. I questioned my sanity for a second. Was...that really happening? I kept my eyes wide open and kept getting the impression that he was getting closer. I was physically paralyzed but inside, it was total panic. My heart was beating faster than a hummingbird's and my brain was starting to overheat.

RIIIIIIIINNNNNNG! RIIIINNNNG!

Yata suddenly jumped at the sound of his ringing cellwatch. He quickly got off of me and stood up.

"Yeah, what's up Mr Kusanagi? …. Y-yeah, I found her, she was walking around the bridge. … All right, were coming."

I stood up. He glanced at me one second and then his face turned redder than a tomatoes. He put his hands in his pocket and looked away.

"So, hum... We should go back."

"Yeah. Okay."

Yata and I walked side by side as the sun set completely and we headed towards the bar. We didn't say anything, occasionally throwing quick glances at each other. 'Did I really imagine that back there? Was he really going to... ? I mean, he's Yata! He couldn't have lost it over me just saying his first name, right? No that's impossible. I probably just imagined that.' I looked at the red clansman. At first glance, really looks like a thug, his attitude doesn't help. But deep down, I thought Saru was right. He's a big softie. I realized that he was still wearing his tank top.

"Hey Yata, do you want your sweatshirt back? You've got to be at least a little cold..."

He stopped and turned to me. "HUUH? Are you an idiot or what!" He shouted and I nearly jumped out of my skin. "You're shirt is ripped dummy! You can't walk around outside with a ripped shirt!"

I mentally face-palmed. Could I get any stupider? "Right, sorry. I forgot."

"Don't worry about it. I'll find something in the laundry."

We resumed our silence and kept walking. 'This is depressing.' I gave him a light hit with my elbow.

"First one at the bar wins!" I shouted.

When we finally stopped in front of the bar, again I was out of breath. Of course, Yata had won the race.

"Well, that woke me up." I looked at the bar. "Why aren't there any lights on?"

"Ah, what the hell? I thought we were the last ones! What was all that crap about hurrying up?" Complained Yata.

He opened the door and we stepped in. Then the lights suddenly turn on and blind us.

"Let's hear it for our newest member you guys!" Said Mr Kusanagi's voice.

"YEAH! NO BLOOD NO BONE NO ASH!" Chanted the guys.

My eyes adjusted to the light. Everyone was here and on the tables was a huge feast waiting to be eaten. The guys were raising their glasses of champaign towards me. Yata looked just as confused as I did.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Growled Yata.

"Because you're not capable of holding your tongue." Said the bartender.

"SAY WHAT?"

Mr Mikoto who was sitting at the counter, looked at me with a smile and looked down. Next to him, Anna was in her gothic loli dress. She ran towards me and stopped in front of me. She looked up and smiled.

"Welcome home, Taiga."

That was the final blow to my heart. Again tears of happiness escaped my eyes. 'I really don't deserve that kindness.' I knelt down and hugged the young strain. "I'm home. Everyone."

"Oh, yeah!" Suddenly said Rikio. "Guess we have to call you Yoruichi now...hehe!"

"No you don't." They all looked at me. "I'm Taiga Miwa of the red clan now, you guys."

"I understand why you'd want to give up your name but..." Started Yo.

"It's not that. Yoruichi is the name my mom gave me, and I'll always keep it. Besides, I'm sure Kuro and Ryu will keep calling me that. But here, with you guys, I want you to call me by the name you gave me. It may sound stupid but I feel like this is where I was reborn. So keep calling me by that name." I smiled.

All of us sat around the tables and started eating and drinking. And for the next few ours, all of us chatted and laughed, while eating the delicious dinner that had been prepared by Rikio and Mr Kusanagi. Yo tried to force me to drink alcohol but he got his ears almost pulled out by Mr Kusanagi. Kosuke and Shohei tried to have an eating contest with Rikio and miserably failed. Then at some point at the end of the evening, when everyone was either smoking or having last minute drinks, Mr Mikoto called me out to sit next to him.

"Starting tomorrow you start working for me. You have to understand one thing Taiga, bounty hunting is rough work that requires to get your hands dirty sometimes. All my guys are fit for a reason. You understand that?" I nodded. "Good. Which means your first job is gonna be able to fight. When you're completely healed, you'll have to train hard to catch up to them."

"It's all clear Mr Mikoto. And there's one thing I want to clarify. Your debt to me is entirely off. No more favors. I'm not taking no for an answer."

He smirks. "Cocky newbie." He muttered before getting up and going to lie down on the couch. "I'm beat. Quiet down, you guys."

"Mikoto's got a point. It's almost 1:30 am." Said Mr Kusanagi. "You guys can just all stay here for the night. Taiga, would you mind taking Anna to your room."

I agreed and picked Anna who had fallen asleep in a chair. I brought her upstairs, took off her shoes and hat and tucked her into bed. I lied down next to her on it but I wasn't sleepy at all. I could here some of the guys still speaking downstairs. 'I guess I'll join them until I get sleepy.' I got up and started heading downstairs.

"So Yata." I heard Yo's voice say. "That little speech you said to the Purple bastard was very touching."

"Fuck off, Chitose!" Yata's voice snapped back. "And the rest of you shit-heads, stop laughing!"

I froze at the top of the staircase, remembering Yata's sudden declaration. I felt my cheeks heat up just thinking about it. 'What's wrong with me?'

" _She's priceless 'cause we love her_. I wouldn't have said it better myself. But coming from you that was really out of nowhere!" Continued the womanizer.

"You better lay off, before I beat you to a bloody pulp." Growled back the crow.

"Ah, come on Yata." Said Shohei this time. "You never stuck around a girl like that. You almost died trying to save her."

"So what? That's my job! Back then I was speaking for all of us, nothing more. I just wanted that bastard to get his fact straight. Where does he go of telling her that she belongs to him like she's his dog? He pissed me off so much I wanted to burn him to a crisp." I heard him hit something. "I'm still pissed, damn it!"

"You're hopeless." Said Yo.

"Complete denial." Said Eric.

"What are you guys getting at? You're annoying!"

"Look at it this way, Yata." Said Mr Kusanagi. "Do you hate Taiga?"

"Huh?! What kind of question is that? Of course not!"

"Don't shout. The King's sleeping. Now, do you feel neutral about her? Is she just another person you see regularly?"

"No. She's a red now! She's our comrade!"

"Is she a friend to you then?"

"Well, yeah."

"So you do like her?"

"Guess so."

"Now is she just a friend Yata?"

"Well... it's not like I'm... I mean I... I don't …. dislike her... at all...…...shit."

"He actually said it. I don't believe this." Said Kosuke's voice.

"I didn't say anything! It's not like that. She's just... so damn reckless! And that's not healthy when you can't take care of yourself. And she always does that thing that pisses me off. She's hurting and she stays alone, like she's trying to disappear along with her problems. It's like she hasn't realized were there! And because of that, I get even more pissed when she's out of my sight! If she disappears while she's alone, then how'm I suppose to help her?!"

"So what you're saying, is that you want to protect her?"

"Of course! It's my job!"

"Come on Yata just admit that you like her in a more-than-friends kind of way."

They laughed again until Yata spoke again with a low voice. "So... what if I do?" The question wasn't used as a comeback. It was completely honest.

Everything got quiet. I think my heart skipped a beat. And Once more, everything inside me panicked.

* * *

 **My, my! Things are heating up! Don't worry, next chapter will** **also be filled with TaigaxYata moments, so don't be disappointed!**

 **MESSAGE : I saw that a lot of authors on the website are taking questions from their readers in the review. So if you guys have any questions or need me to clarify some stuff, put them in your reviews and I'll answer at the end of next chapter! That's all!**

 **HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016! ;P**


	18. Chapter 18 : Burning Soul, Aching heart

**I'm so sorry you guys! I know it's been a month, but I've been going through a massive writer's block and I really apologize for it! But don't worry. I have no intention of giving up that story. I made the chapter extra sweet for y'all.**

 **Try to enjoy it without drooling!**

* * *

And once more, I was on the edge of the trail next to the bridge that led to Ashinaka High, sitting on a bench. Except this time, it was pitch black. How did I get here? No clue. Nothing's clear. 'I guess I ran away after that.' All I could remember correctly was Yata's last sentence.

" _So … what if I do?"_

The tone in that sentence was clear. He wasn't just saying it as a comeback to the guys. That question wanted a real answer. 'What do I do if what you say is true?' A pure, very honest question coming straight from the heart. In a way it was very Yata-like. My heart hadn't slowed down since. Did I really feel that? Was that why everything felt different when I was with him? Wasn't it just gratitude? And if it was, why wasn't it the same with the rest of the clan, and Yashiro and Kuro and everyone else? And why won't my heart slow down? My face was hot even though no one was around to see it.

'Damn you, Yata!' I thought, taking my head in my hands. 'Why are you making me think like that?'

It was true that he was very important to me. Like a new source of strength that was helping me grow. Even bigger and stronger than Mr Mikoto, than the rest of the clan put together in fact.

"Do I really... like him like that?" I muttered out loud.

"Hmm? What's this?" Said a voice right next to my ear. "A young lady sulking about love? How beautiful."

I gasped and turned around so fast that I fell off the bench, landing heavily on my backside. Someone was leaning on the bench, behind where I'd been sitting a second ago. He was a tall, young looking man with long purple hair and bangs. He was wearing a long black coat and leather gloves. He chuckled.

"A bit over the top reaction, don't you think?" He said, smiling.

'Is that guy wearing makeup?' I thought when I noticed his lips were pinkish and shining. He jumped over the bench and knelt down in front of me. That's when I noticed something sticking out of his back. A sword handle. I instantly got reminded of Kuro. Aside from him, I didn't think anyone would just casually walk around with a katana. But then again, it was the middle of the night. Truthfully, I was more focused on the guy that was staring at me like he wanted to eat me. I just stayed on the ground staring back at him. He extended a hand and presented it to me.

"You should get up." He stated.

I hesitantly grabbed his hand and he pulled me up quickly and swiftly, as if I was a feather. But he kept my hand in his and kept staring at me.

"It's just like I've been told. They're gorgeous."

"What?"

He came closer and extended his arm towards me to cup my cheeks gently. "Indeed truly beautiful. For a beauty seeker such as myself, this is a rare treasure. They look like they hold the essence of beauty itself."

What was up with this guy and beauty? Hold up. Why did that sound familiar?

" _This guy's a weirdo. He has a fetish for 'beautiful things'. If he sees your eyes, it's gonna take forever. Not to freak you out or anything, he might even try to take them."_

This was the guy who had given Yata the info on how to find Ome?

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Hm? How rude of me. I haven't introduced myself." He took his hand back, making sure his fingers slid one by one on my chin, and brought it to his heart. He lowered his head, bowing and declared. "My name is Yukari Mishakuji. Please to meet you. Allow me to say once more that your eyes are truly breathtaking."

"I knew it, you are the green clan's informant!" I exclaimed. "The one that told Yata about Ome."

"So you do know me? I'm flattered. It's an honor, Miss Miwa."

"Hold up a second. How in the world do you know my name?" I said frowning.

He smiled. "You see, I've been looking for you. Ever since I heard that my late master had a daughter, I've been dying to meet you." He placed his hand on my cheek again and rubbed his thumb on it. "The resemblance between you two is flagrant. You have that same sweetness on your face with a hint of naïveté that gives it an amazing flagrance. Exactly like Master Ichigen. And of course, those two golden jewels to complete it all."

"Master Ichigen? Then, you know Kuro..."

"Of course. You could say he's like my little brother. We were fellow disciples of the former Colorless King after all. Tell me, what was his reaction when he found out who you were?"

I didn't answer. His hand on my face felt really uncomfortable, but for some odd reason, I couldn't find the strength to slap his hand away. There was something really strange and hypnotic about this guy. Maybe because he mentioned my father...

"Won't you come with me?" Suddenly asked the tall man.

My eyes widened in surprise. Was he serious?

"What?"

"I'm asking if you wish to come with me." He repeated as if I was a little kid.

"I heard you the first time." I said, slightly irritated. "What do you mean by that? And where do you want to take me?"

"I can tell you everything you want to know about your father. As well as how he and your mother encountered. I can even teach you the art of sword wielding. I'll make you my apprentice, if you wish. I'll teach you everything your father taught me."

Now I slapped his hand away and took a step back. "No thank you. Thanks for the offer, but I don't know you... And my mom always told me not to talk to strangers." I said frowning. 'Is this guy a creep or a stalker?'

He chuckled. "I'm hardly a stranger. Master Ichigen was like a father to me. That makes us almost family, wouldn't you say?"

"Then how come I never heard Kuro say anything about you?"

"Well, you see, my adorable Kuro is quite mad at me since I left our Master's school. I imagined, I'd be the last person he'd want to mention, especially to you. But I can assure, that even if I did leave my Master and decided to follow my own path, my fondness and respect for him are still intact. I simply wanted to be stronger. Something his teachings couldn't do. But he is the one who helped me realize myself. As thanks to him, I would very much like to teach his beloved daughter the path he helped me uncover. So what say you, Yoruichi?"

"Like I said, where do you want to take me?"

"Does it matter? I will give you a home you never had as well the legacy of your father."

The more he spouted his honey-coated words, the more this sounded like a trap. And in some way, this guy reminded me of Ryu. But there was a real appeal. I wanted to know. Everything he said about knowing my father was making me more and more curious. He definitely knew what he was talking about. But I was still on guard. I've been exposed to liars and manipulators way too much not to be.

"Thanks for the offer, but I can't just leave. I'm a Red clansman now. But if you really know things about my father then please tell me." I said while giving the most determined glare I had in store. "If you don't want to that's fine. I'll just ask Kuro."

His smirk widened. "I'm afraid you won't get anything out of him. Kuro didn't even know of your existence until recently. Master Ichigen made me promise that I'd never tell him. Fate does things well. Who would have thought the two of you would meet so many years later?"

"What about you? Have you been stalking me for the past 18 years?"

"Of course not. I just got curious when people started talking about a girl with golden eyes. I did remember my Master mentioning that trait about his daughter."

It took one second. One blink. He was standing a few inches in front of me. He was at least two heads taller than me. I tried to move back but he put an arm around my back and kept me from going any further.

"I wonder... Will you still be special if I take them?"

"Why you..."

Before I could even think of summoning my aura, I heard quick footsteps running straight towards us. A lightning quick blade slashed through the air right in front of me, where Yukari had been standing half a second ago. Before I realized it, I was on the ground, having lost my support. The tall man had jumped back ten meters.

"Really? Interrupting a conversation between a man and a woman is not cute at all. Where are your manners, little brother?"

Standing in front of me, in a defensive stance, sword in hand, the Silver clansman was defying the older man with a murderous glare.

"Stay away from her, Yukari Mishakuji!"

"We haven't seen each other in years, Kuro. Would it kill you to say hello?"

"Approach her again, and you will taste my blade." The man said raising his arms in a very dramatical way.

Yukari chuckled. "Don't make me laugh little brother. You don't stand a chance against me and you know it. Besides, it's not nice to want to keep her all to yourself."

"Silence! I won't let someone who pointed his sword at Master Ichigen lay a finger on his daughter!"

"Calm down, Kuro. I wasn't going to do anything. I just wanted a closer look at her eyes. But I won't mind taking her with me. You see, I have a lot more information for her concerning our former Master. After all, I knew of her existence all along, while he never said a word to you. I wonder why?"

Kuro gripped his sword tighter and clenched his teeth. But when he spoke, it was almost a whisper. "Yoruichi. Don't listen to a word this man says. He betrayed our Master and even tried to kill him. Lies are the only thing that comes out of his mouth."

He looked offended. "How mean little brother. Master Ichigen was the one to told me to get stronger by my own means. I just followed his advice..."

In the space of a tiny second, Kuro threw himself on Yukari who unsheathed his blade and blocked the younger pupil's katana.

"Be quiet! Don't you dare even speak his name after what you did!"

"You're so cute, Kuro. But you can hardly expect that you can take me on with your current level."

The man pushed back the Black Dog with ease and with so much strength that he was sent back right next to me and landed heavily on his back, dropping his sword in the process. I quickly jumped on my feet and placed myself in front of the young samurai, unintentionally summoning the Purple aura. It was the only one I knew how to manipulate correctly, even though it made me uncomfortable to use it. The Red aura was much more unstable and wild. I needed more time and training to get used to it. The Purple fog danced around me, but I was shaking. This guy, Yukari, no matter how goofy and awkward he seemed, I could tell he was strong. Stronger than Kuro. That means he was stronger than most of the Red clansmen. Maybe even stronger than Aki.

"I can see sweat drops forming on your forehead. Are you really willing to try and and fight me even though you know you're going to fail?"

I gulped. "I'm not that easy to deal with..." I said.

He chuckled and raised his sword to put it back in it's sheath. "As much fun as that sounds, I really must be going. Nagare is probably getting impatient. I suppose your answer to my offer is no, then?"

I turned off my aura and gave him a nasty look. "I have no intention of going with you. When I'm strong enough, I'll beat the answers out of you!" I snapped, praying that my voice wasn't trembling.

"Too bad. I would've liked to get to know you better. To see how much of my former Master was in you. But I will have the occasion soon enough. After all, we're all players in the same game aren't we?" He turned around and started walking away but then stopped. "By the way, Yoruichi. Ryu says hello."

I froze at his words and before I could call out to him, he disappeared. Damn, he was fast. I knelt down next to the grunting young samurai.

"Are you alright?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. That hit could have shattered my ribs though."

"What are you doing here?" I said helping him up before picking up his katana.

"I could ask you the same. What are you doing out here at such a late hour and alone? It's not safe, especially for you!" He scolded.

"Yeah sorry. I just needed to cool my head a little... stuff happened."

"What did he want from you?"

"He said something about me becoming his disciple in exchange for info about my father. Hold on, did you know where I was?" I asked as I gave him back his sword that he sheathed.

"I did. Ome called me. She saw you and Yukari together and thought that I should check it out."

'Why is she even up at a time like this?' I thought. "But how did you get here so fast?"

"I live on the campus, remember? I just had to cross the bridge. That's why she called me. If you'd been closer to the HOMRA bar, I believe she would have called..."

"TAIGAAAA!" Shouted out a familiar voice.

"...him." Finished Kuro, sighing.

We heard a quick rolling sound, and saw HOMRA's skateboarding captain appear near the bridge, rolling at full speed. When he spotted us, he jumped off his ride and picked it up before running towards us. He leaned on his knees a bit while catching his breath.

"Ome... called!" He said in between huffs. "What …. the hell... were you... thinking...taking off... on your... own …. again?!"

I raised my hands. "Easy Yata. Catch your breath first, before you chock. I'm fine, Kuro came to help me. And besides, if that guy had wanted to hurt me, he would've already done it."

The young samurai sighed. "Honestly, you're more careless than a child, Yoruichi."

I looked down. I had been protected by them. Again. "I'm sorry. Thank you for helping me Kuro. I'll be fine now." I said smiling.

"Please be more careful next time." He turned to Yata. "Make sure she gets home safely."

"I don't need you to tell me that Black Dog!" Growled back the annoyed crow who seemed to have caught his breath. He grabbed my hand, which made me flinch and pulled me behind him. "Come on."

The Red clansman led me and I noticed that we weren't heading towards the bar. He stayed quiet and I did too. I was uncomfortable being alone with him. The fact that he was holding my hand so tightly didn't help. He dragged me to Shizume's shopping mall and to the skatepark where he usually went, whenever he needed to cool off. Once in the middle of it, he let go off my hand and suddenly turned around to face me. He had a still pissed off but really serious face. He dropped his skate on the ground.

"Sit." He ordered.

"Uh, what?" I said not sure I heard correctly.

"Sit!" He repeated louder.

I instantly obeyed and sat down on a ramp. He stood in front of me, arms crossed but looking away.

"Well, talk!"

I was confused. "Well... what do you want me to say?"

"You took off on your own again! In the middle of the night! D'you have a nightmare or something?"

My eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, no. Nothing's wrong. Well... not really."

"Don't give me that crap!" I jumped. "You expect me to believe nothing's wrong?" His face blushed slightly. "I told you I'd listen. Why didn't you come ask?"

My face turned crimson when I realized exactly why I ran away again. I looked down. "It's... not important. Besides it's the middle of the night. You were probably snoring on the couch." I muttered that last sentence.

I heard the clansman growl and he leaned forward, his face an inch for me. He looked pissed. "But it's bothering you, right? So fess up, come on!"

"I can't tell you!" I said a bit brusquely.

He looked surprised and was taken aback. "Why not?"

I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. I could practically feel steam coming out of my ears. I wanted to dig a hole and bury myself in it. I'd been alone with him before, what was so different now? I was rubbing my hands together nervously.

"Because...well, because... it's about you..." 'Why did I just say that?!' I scolded myself.

"What about me?"

"I just said I can't tell you." I repeated, getting even more nervous.

I looked down again, my cheeks as red as ever and I could feel his eyes on me. Nothing was clear in my mind. I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what it was. And it was starting to hurt me inside. Say it! But say what?

Yata scratched the back of his head. "Anyways, you shouldn't be out here at this time. You still need to rest because of your wounds. You're acting weird. Even your face is red." He came closer and placed a hand on my forehead. His cheeks were still a little red at the contact and he looked away while it was like a volcano exploded inside my face. "Are you sure you don't have a fever?"

"I'm... okay... Really." I quickly said, grabbing his hand and taking it away from my head, wondering how the hell I manage not to shout right now. But I kept his hand in mine, surprisingly tight. He froze when I didn't let go, probably confused about what to do. Both of us were overheating from the inside. I don't know about Yata, but the internal pressure inside my chest made me feel like my heart was gonna give in and explode any second.

"So, hum... what did that freak want with you?" He said looking up, probably doing his best to ignore the fact that I was holding his hand.

"What?" I let go of his hand. "Oh. To take me as an apprentice, I think. And he knew about Ryu."

"Why were you with the Black Dog. Did you call him for help?" He suddenly sounded aggressive.

"Huh? No! Ome called him. That's what he said."

Again we stayed silent for a while. He fake coughed, before taking his hand back and picking up his skate. "Let's go. Sun's almost up and you're gonna get yelled at again if Mr Kusanagi and Mister Mikoto find out you went out in the middle of the night."

He was about to start walking to lead the way but I remained seated and grabbed his wrist. Mostly out of reflex though. My breathing got quicker as my heartbeat accelerated even more than before. I needed to get this off my chest. Even if I didn't know what it was, I needed to get rid of it.

"I need to tell you something!" I said very quickly, contradicting exactly what I said two minutes ago. 'Why am I choking like that? I can't even hear myself breath!' I looked at the ground, forcing myself not to look at him. "But I'm not sure what it is..."

He stayed silent for a second making a confused face. So I continued. "Remember, earlier? When you came to pick me up when I was crying? I said I had something to tell you... and I did tell you but... I think I need to say more... the..there's something...I didn't tell you...I think..."

What in the world was getting into me? What couldn't I speak normally anymore? And why couldn't I stop talking?!

"Listen. I'm immensely grateful to you and Mr Mikoto and the entire Red Clan... You guys took me in even though I was a complete stranger. You fed me and gave me a home. And when you all came to save me, it was then I realized I wanted to be with all of you for as long as I could..."

"Oi, Taiga..."

"I mean I'm also grateful to Yashiro, Kuro, Saruhiko and even Mr Munakata and the Blue Clan. I can't not be But you guys were the first to save me so … yeah, I owe you one big thank you."

"H-hold on a second..." The crow tried to interrupt again.

"But you... every time I think of how lucky I am, it's always you that comes to mind first. I don't know why and it's making my chest hurt like crazy right now... I mean, I was so happy when you blasted in through the window and I saw that you were alive. And even happier that you came for me."

I was shaking now. "I think, I really wanted it to be you. I wanted to see you. More than anyone when I was stuck in that place."

What was I saying and why? What was the whole point of my blabbering all of this? He knew I was grateful, and I'd have plenty of time to repay them all now that I was a Red. So why was I running my mouth like that? Even my mind couldn't follow. I was clenching his hand like my life depended on it. I realized, that I'd stopped talking for a while and was just breathing heavily. My eyes were starting to get teary again. I wasn't looking at him, but I knew he was staring probably very confused by my sudden outburst.

"Oi, Taiga." He said slowly this time. "Are you sure everything's alright?" He sounded really worried.

I felt his wrist bend a little in my hand, and his finger closing in on it. And that was all it took. I finally shouted. "There's something I want to tell you, but I don't even know what it is clearly! But it's torturing me!"

No that was a lie. Now that I've spilled almost all my guts, emptying every last drop of thought that was going through my head, only the thing that was bothering me was left. Completely uncovered, impossible to hide anymore. I was afraid. Afraid to say it. Even though it was right there. I couldn't. I didn't have the strength. I was pathetic. I started to loosen my grip to let go of his hand and tell him to go on without me. But my hand never fell. He was the one holding it now.

"So, you're still hurting. Then, I didn't do anything for you in the end."

My eyes widened and I looked up. He was holding my hand gently but, I could feel him shaking. And his face... I'd never seen this look on his face before. And I hated it. He looked sad. Sad and angry. His teeth were visibly clenched.

"Sorry." He let out after a while. "I'm an idiot, so I don't get all of it. But it's somehow my fault that you're still hurting? So... sorry."

I could feel the pain in his voice. How could I have caused someone to feel like that because of my problems. I felt my face twist at this side and tears fell out of my eyes again. I gripped his hand tightly again. I don't know if I was sobbing or laughing nervously, but it was somewhere in between the two.

"Shit. I totally suck." I said. "I made you feel bad, now." I tried to wipe the tears from my face with my free hand. I didn't have the right to cry. "I'm sorry Yata. It wasn't what I was trying to do. I'm horrible."

I felt like the most selfish person in the world. "You didn't do anything. Well, nothing you're responsible for. It's my own damn fault for being such a coward. I finally figured out what was eating at me and I just don't have the guts to say it."

I let go off his hand to wipe the never-ending flow of tears that was coming out of my eyes. Once I managed to control the dam at least temporarily, I forced myself to look up at him in the eyes. I was still afraid, but at the same time I was angry at myself for making him feel like that. He already had suffered enough because of me. And I just had to go and crush him on the inside too? But as soon as I met his hazel eyes, I looked back down again, and smiled at how pitiful I was for not even being able to look at him. I stayed quiet for a minute and then looked up again. I owed him to look at him in the eyes when I talked to him.

"I think I'm in love with you."

His eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly. My body moved on its own. The next thing I knew, I was standing not a foot away from the Red clansman. My eyes were shut and I felt myself press my lips against something warm.

* * *

 **My! How bold Taiga! (My babies grow up so fast!) You guys want to know out favorite** **skateboarder's response right? Then stay tuned for next chapter! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	19. Chapter 19 : Our flame

**Hey guys! Here's chapter 19. Again try to enjoy it without drooling (I'm sure your screens will be grateful!) WARNING : The chances of drooling while reading this chapter are 40% higher than in the previous chapter. You have been warned!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

It was so warm. And felt divinely good. I wished I could stay this way forever. But as this immense feeling of relief and well-being was soon followed by my mind replaying what happened just before. It was slowly catching up to the present. Meeting Yukari Mishakuji. Being saved and scolded by Kuro. Yata dragging me to the skate park to make me spill my guts. Me bursting out nonsense. And then confessing. I pulled back, disconnecting my lips from his and opened my eyes, meeting his hazel ones. They were wide open. His mouth was slightly opened. He was frozen in shock. I was lost in those eyes. 'They really are beautiful. Your name suits you so well.' I thought. The sound of something falling on the ground completely brought me back to reality. Yata had dropped his skateboard. As I looked at it, I just realized what I did and my eyes widened in shock as well. I looked at Yata again who hadn't budge.

"Oh my god!" I took steps back and placed both hands on my mouth. What had I done? My heart started racing again. "I'm so sorry." I said.

I kept backing up until the back of my knee hit the ramp and I tripped. Yata finally reacted and took a step forward. For some reason, it scared me. I stood up as fast as I could and started running in a random direction.

"Taiga!" He shouted.

I ignored him and entered a maze of streets, running as fast as I could. The muscles in my legs were burning and so were my lungs. 'What in the world is wrong with me? Why the hell did I do that? Damn it! I'm an idiot!' I ran without stopping for who knows how long. I wasn't going anywhere but I just had to run. I only stopped when my legs gave in and I crashed on the ground of an empty alley. I got on all four and breathed heavily, trying to catch my breath. Just then, it started raining again. 'The weather has a really horrible timing.' I rolled to the side and leaned against a wall, hugging my legs. The rain was the least of my worries.

'Why did I do that? I probably freaked him out completely. No wonder. That was practically harassment! What in the world is wrong with me?'

I placed my hand on my mouth again. My lips were burning me. And my chest was hurting. In that moment, I felt really disgusted by myself. And even more than that, I felt ashamed... because that sensation that I felt when our lips touched was wonderful. It felt like a ton had been taken off my chest. But now it was like it had been passed on to him. 'Can I get anymore pathetic?' I thought, biting my lower lip until I could taste the iron taste of blood.

"Taiga!" I suddenly heard his voice shout. And it was really close. I looked right and HOMRA's crow on the roof of a small building, scanning the streets around. And he looked... pissed. My eyes widened and I quickly hid behind a trashcan. The last thing I expected him to do was to come after me. I didn't think he wanted to beat me up, even though I probably deserved it. Him looking around like crazy, while his clothes were getting soaked really made him look... really cool. And I understood better why he had that nickname. But I was panicking on the inside. I couldn't let him find me. 'Guess on top of all of that, I'm still a coward.' I stood up and started backing up the other side of the alley making sure he wasn't looking this way... only to bump into another metal trashcan that fell on the ground, making the loud metallic sound resonate in the entire street. Of course Yata heard it and spotted me immediately. Our eyes made contact one second and I turned around to run again.

"Taiga! Hold on!" I heard him call, but I just kept running.

Soon after, I heard the sound of something rolling behind me. I didn't have to look to know he was on his skateboard and very close behind me.

"Wait up!"

"No!" I shouted back, without turning around.

"I said stop running, damn it!"

"No way!"

I was making a lot of random and sharp turns to keep him from catching up with me. But he somehow managed to keep up. 'I guess that's what it's like being an expert skateboarder.' I wasn't going to shake him off that easily. In fact, scratch that, I wasn't going to shake him off any day. Not in my current state. Unless I used tricks. I turned into another alley, but instead of crossing it this time, I stepped onto a big metal trash and jumped up to catch the railing of an emergency staircase. I quickly climbed up to the roof of the four story high building and ran across it to jump onto another roof and coming down by that's ones emergency staircase. Once down, I started running randomly again but when I was about to turn the next corner, a hand grabbed my shoulder from behind, interrupting my running away and pulled me back. Before I could even gasp, my back hit the wall and I grunt when my shoulder made a nasty 'crack' sound. I opened my eyes and red aura surrounded fist crashed in the wall next to my face, making a hole in it.

"I told you... to stop... running!" That punch made me freeze completely. Yata was looking at the ground, panting heavily, like he'd just run a marathon. But his grip on my shoulder wasn't gonna let go anytime soon. I could almost feel my bones crack. Ordinary, I would be telling him to calm down. But I was paralyzed, terrified of what he was going to say. Once he caught up his breath a little, he looked at me with the same fire-filled eyes and pissed off face but... his cheeks were crimson red.

"What was that, huh!? What do you think you were doing back there?"

I opened my mouth to reply but couldn't. I wasn't exactly aloud to make excuses for myself. So I shut my lips and and my eyes waiting for him to punch me or at least start yelling at me about how shameless I was.

"You don't just steal a guy's first kiss and then run away from him without giving him a chance to say something, you idiot!"

"Huh?"

My eyes opened and I blinked a couple times. Did I hear correctly? I raised my head and looked at him. He was still a little out of breath and as red as a tomato. "Don't run away from me! It's hard enough as it is!"

I nodded, not sure why though. I wasn't understanding what was happening... He grabbed my other shoulder with his free hand and took a very deep breath. I was completely stuck now.

"Damn it woman! Ever since you barged into my life, everything's been turned upside down! And wanna know what tops it all?" He squeezed my shoulders tighter, making me flinch. "I don't think I can ever go back now! Even though I hurt you, you stuck around me like glue! I can't let you go anymore! You get yourself in trouble so easily, I can't possibly let you out of my sight anymore."

He panted a bit without taking his eyes off me and calmed down before loosening his grip on my shoulders. He brought his hand up to my chin and traced my lower lip with his thumb.

"See?" He said with a quiet voice this time. "I take my eyes off you three seconds and you're already bleeding."

He then leaned forward and rested his head on my left shoulder. I instantly blushed and froze. He said still with a quiet voice and red cheeks. "You were right you know. You running away from me hurts a lot more than a punch." He waited a couple seconds before clenching his fists and adding. "I don't want to let you go. I won't! Not until I know you're safe for good."

I relaxed and looked up at the rainy night sky."In other words until Ryu stops coming after me. You know that will probably be never."

"Then I'll just have to keep you with me forever. Don't run away from me."

I mentally slapped myself again. Looks like the only thing I was good at was causing trouble. He looked like he was more shocked by me running away than by me kissing him out of the blue. "I'm sorry Yata."

"For what?"

"For running away. And also... for... kissing you..." It took every bit of will I had to say these last few words.

His eyes shot open and he suddenly re-straightened himself and took a step back, letting go of my shoulders. His cheeks were dark red and he stared at me weirdly before fake coughing and crossing his arms on his chest.

"It's not... like it was …. bad or anything."

I felt my cheeks burn and looked away as well. We both just stood in the rain like that, looking away from each other. My chest was burning so much that I couldn't even feel the cold. That is until I started sneezing. We looked at each other awkwardly.

"We're... completely soaked..." I stated.

"Yeah..." He replied looking at me.

"We should probably find somewhere to dry...before we both catch pneumonia..."

"Yeah. D'you... wanna go back to the bar?"

I gave him a face. "It might be better if we don't wake everyone up. Do you think it's possible to sneak in without any of them waking up?"

"No." He looked away again, and he seemed hesitant before saying. "My place isn't too far... i-if you want to..."

"Your place? You mean at your mom's?"

"No. I... I have an apartment not too far. I sleep at my mom's from time to time whenever she needs help."

Now that I thought about it, it was kind of weird that a nineteen year old man who worked would still live with his parents. "I guess it's a good place as any."

I followed Yata a couple of blocks until we reached a small apartment complex with five apartments per floor. Yata's was on the third. He took a key out of his pocket and opened it. Surprisingly enough, the place was well taken care of and tidy. I took off my wet sneakers. It looked like a place roommates would have while attending college. Very Japanese style I quickly explored the small place. There was small kitchen, a bathroom, a small living room with a low tea table, and two rooms barely big enough to lay down a futon in each and with small closets carved in the wall to put clothes away. There was also a small blacony. It was a very cosy place. I realized that my clothes were dripping on the floor. I turned to hallway, knowing my host was in his small kitchen.

"Yata, do you mind if I take a shower?"

I heard something fall on the floor and Yata grunting. My guess was that he probably had dropped something on his foot.

"Y-yeah, go ahead."

"Thanks."

This time, I made sure I locked the door properly. Lucky for me, there was more than one towel in here. I quickly washed hair and body and stepped out. That's when I realized I probably shouldn't put my wet clothes back on. I sigh before wrapping my towel around me and opening the door to call for Yata, but I stopped myself when I saw a pair of gray sweatpants and a white sweatshirt folded in front of the door. I grabbed them and quickly put them on. I took my wet clothes and went to the kitchen and took a peak … only to back out quickly. He was bare chest. 'That was close.' I knocked on the wall, to warn him I was here.

"Yata? Thanks for the clothes. You should go shower too."

"R-right. Hum, you can go wait in the living room."

"Okay."

I went to the living room. The alarm clock in a corner indicated 3:14am. Outside, the rain and wind were very strong. I closed the curtain of the glass doors. I looked at my clothes. Sweatshirt, tank top, leggings, shorts, socks... all completely soaked. I had to find somewhere to hang them. I went back to the entrance where I'd spotted a carder box filled with random stuff. Baseball bats, skate wheels, screwdrivers, screws, old shoes... after looking through it for a bit, I found some fishing wire and duck tape. I stretched the wire across the room and hung my clothes there, leaving some space for Yata's. I thought for a second that maybe I could dry them with the red aura but I didn't trust myself to use it just yet. One wrong spark and I could burn down the place. As Yata took his shower, I knelt in front of the tea table and leaned on it. I was tired, but I couldn't close my eyes. I didn't want to fall asleep. I still let out a big yawn. I heard the bathroom door open and Yata going to the kitchen and coming back. I looked up as he approached and set two cups filled with steaming liquid on the table. He was wearing blue sweatpants and a white t-shirt. It was weird to see him without his beanie. He also had a towel on the shoulders. I pointed towards the wire.

"You should hang your clothes." I said a little awkwardly.

"Yeah." He quickly went to fetch his drenched stuff and hung them next to mine. He then sat in front of me and we both sipped our teas avoiding each others eyes. I thought of something to say because it was not comfortable at all.

"It's a nice place. Did you pick it yourself?"

"Partly." He sounded frustrated. "I... lied earlier. I don't come here so often anymore. I hate this place."

"Why?"

"Bad memories."

I frowned until the logic buckle clicked in my brain. And then I felt really stupid. "Saru lived here with you." I stated.

He nodded and finished his tisane bottoms up. He was a really contradictory guy. He said he hated the place because of bad memories, but he probably had a lot of fun with Saru when they still shared the same clan. Also the place was neatly clean, meaning _someone_ regularly came here to wash and scrape. If there was tea here, stuff ready for whenever someone came by.

" _Since we've met Mikoto Suho, Misaki hasn't wished for anything else. And when HOMRA crumbles he'll have nothing left."_

Saru was mad at Yata for not looking further than HOMRA. Yata was mad at Saru for having left him behind. But no matter how you looked at it, these two still had a strong bond. It's not easy to severe long-time friendships. To me, it was obvious. If only they could just sit and talk. But maybe now was not the best time to talk about Saru. I finished my tisane and noticed that Yata's hair was still dripping with water. I extended my arm and grabbed the towel on his shoulders. He jumped and looked at me.

"What are you doing?"

"You should dry your hair better. You're gonna catch your death."

He blushed again and hesitated, before turning his back to me. I took that as permission and placed his towel on his head. I started rubbing.

"What about your hair?"

"I dry them better than you, that's for sure."

I got a growl as a response and smiled to myself. I could smell his pine and honey perfumed shampoo.

"How're your wounds?" He suddenly asked.

"Much better now that Ome's stitched me up. How about you? Are you feeling better?"

I knew he was grinning when he answered. "You kidding? Now that I have Mr Mikoto's blood in my veins, I feel like a lion!"

I laughed. I knew he would say that. That laugh also made the tension in my body relax. Yata was still Yata. I looked at the clock again. 4:06am. I realized that I was exhausted and yawned again. "Are you tired?" Asked my host.

"Uh-hu." I replied in the middle of my yawn. I let myself fall on the tea table. "You mind if I close my eyes a sec..." I didn't even feel myself touch the wooden table before letting darkness take my consciousness.

* * *

 **Yata's apartment**

I woke up when I felt wind play with my hair. I was still extremely drowsy. And it was still pretty dark. I looked at the clock. 7:29. I looked outside. The sky was dark blue. I could tell the sun was going to get up soon. I looked around the room but didn't find Yata. The door leading to the balcony was open and the gentle wind was making the curtains dance. I got up and the cover that had been placed on my shoulders fell off. I walked out on the balcony.

"Yata?" I called out.

"You're already up?" Said a voice coming from up. I raised my head and saw the red clansman sitting on the roof. I smiled at him.

"Good morning."

"Yeah, 'morning." He replied with a quiet voice.

He hesitated a moment before offering me a hand that I grabbed. He pulled me up on the roof with him. I sat next to him. The view was perfect to watch the sunrise. Yata was staring at the horizon with very focused eyes. But his face showed a little worry. As the first sun rays appeared, his hazel eyes shun. I also noticed he had bags under his eyes.

"You didn't sleep at all, did you?"

"I only have one cover."

I rolled my eyes and pocked him on the side of the head. "You call that an excuse?"

"Did you really mean it?"

"Huh?"

"Yesterday. When you said... that." I froze in surprise. Yata in serious mode?

I turned my eyes back to the slowly rising sun. I felt my cheeks heat up when I said. "Of course I did. Do you really think I'd make something like that up? That's insulting Yata."

He had a small grin. "You know, the happiest day of my life was when Mr Mikoto invited me and Saru to join the clan. Ever since, I've never needed anything else. Just being with the guys all day, messing around, even the job was fun. I always thought this is the life I want. I don't need anything else. The clan is my life, you know"

I gulped and I felt my heart ache in my chest. I never thought about Yata's reaction to my confession. But now that I was thinking about it, it was logic that he would reject it. He's not exactly the most mature guy around and his clan is everything to him. He continued.

"And you know, I'm not exactly good at talking to people in general. That's why the clan's a good place for me. Being all sweet and stuff... I really suck at it."

I felt tears come up to my eyes. I bit my lips together and fought to keep them from coming out. Then, I took a very deep breath and smiled while keeping my eyes on the rising sun.

"I get it you know. I don't want to clip your wings and keep you from flying. I know a thing or two about having your freedom taken. I never want anyone to go through that. Especially not the guy who's so special to me."

'Stop hurting damn it!' I ordered my heart. 'I have to get away before it bursts out of my chest. Or before I start crying.'

"My clothes are probably dried now. I should get dressed."

I was about to get up to jump off the roof, but Yata's hand suddenly snatched my arm, keeping me from doing anything. "I told you this was hard enough! Let me finish, damn it!"

He was right. I owed him that much at least. But I didn't want to look at him in the eyes. I kept my head down. "I said HOMRA's everything to me! But you... even though you weren't one of us... even though we didn't know your real name... When that bastard took you... I never felt so scared of loosing something! HOMRA is my life. But you're even more important than my life!"

My eyes shot open and as I turned my head to look to the side, only to see Yata's almost scarlet face but a dead serious look burning with determination. I gulped, sniffed and tears fell out of my eyes. Yata suddenly looked disturbed.

"O-oi, why are you crying? Did I say some..." He stood up, but his foot slipped and he started falling.

"YATA!"

I grabbed his arm, but he was to heavy for me to keep him from falling. We both ended up crashing on the floor of the balcony.

"Oh-ow!"Yata grunted, having fallen flat on his back. "Why does this always happen to me?"

I started laughing uncontrollably, as the tears kept coming out. Yata looked at me weirdly. "Did you fall on your head?" He asked.

"I'm not sad, dummy!" I said as I kept laughing. "I'm happy! I'm so happy it makes me cry! Hahahahaha! Also... we looked pretty stupid falling like that. I mean we're suppose to be a bird and a gymnast! So much for our reputation."

I couldn't stop myself and Yata started laughing with me, until our abs were killing us. I then let out a big sigh. Then a familiar beeping noise was heard. Yata's cell watch. The red clamsman sat up quickly and cursed.

"Yeah, Mr Kusanagi?" He said and we both held our breaths for the scolding that we were about to have. But it never came.

"Oh, Yata? Are you and Taiga coming soon? We're waiting for you." Said the bartender's casual voice.

"Y-yeah, we'll be in an hour."

"See you then."

We looked at each other. That reaction was... unexpected. When I realize I've been staring too long, I quickly get up and tell Yata I'm changing. While I did that, Yata made breakfast. He was a surprisingly good cook. The food was delicious. But we didn't say a word to each other. I was afraid to break the silence, I don't know about him though. Then Yata grabbed his skate and closed the door.

"Well, uh... we should go." He said.

He turned his back to me, but offered a hand. I knew he was blushing because I was as well. But I didn't hesitate and took it. His hand was really warm. He didn't let go as we started walking in direction of the bar. He led me through the not too used alleys and streets. But then, the crow suddenly stopped.

"Yata?"

He squeezed my hand tighter and made that face, the one he made when he had trouble spitting out something. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"You said it to me once. It's only fair that I say it back right?"

"What are you..."

"I think...I think I'm...in love with you...Taiga."

I didn't even have time to be shocked. In one swift move, the young clansman captured my lips. His own cheeks were on fire. The moment I closed my eyes and gave into the kiss, my tears escaped. The warm sensation from the kiss I'd stolen was nothing compared to this one. This guy really... can't use words so he spoke with his fists... or this time, his lips... The words he'd spoken at Ryu's mansion rang in my head... We love her became I love her, that became I love you.

* * *

 **HOMRA bar**

"Oh, there you guys are." Said the bartender with a smile when stepped into the bar. " So, I take it everything went well?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Dr Shiranui called me and told me that she called you two early this morning for another checkup. She wanted to make sure your wounds were well taken care of. Something about side effects of the Purple King's aura."

"Huh?" Said Yata, confused. "Why would she..."

He looked my way as I realized what was going on. When he saw my completely shocked and horrified expression, he understood.

"AH!? No way! She didn't!"

"I think she did." I said face palming.

"Then she saw...everything?! That peeping weirdo strain!"

'Ome, I am going to murder you and your foresight.' I thought, as my face was starting to get steamy.

"What are you two talking about?"Asked Yo. As all the other clansman including Anna and the King were staring at us.

"NOTHING!" The two of us yelled at the same time, our faces as red as my sweatshirt. And I'm pretty sure that betrayed us.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it! As for next chapter, get ready to see some kick ass action! ;)**


	20. Chapter 20 : Invitation and Suspicion

**Hey guys! I hope I'm not surprising you too much with the huge time skip, but it felt necessary. Let's see how things have been going... and of course what's a story without new trouble starting! And this particular problem rhymes with trouble...**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **6 MONTHS LATER**

"You won't get away! You might as well give up now, buddy!" Yelled one of the two red clansmen that were running after his clone on the third floor of Shizume's shopping mall.

Damn, and he had thought the empty mall on a Monday would be the best place to hide. He never expected that four members of HOMRA, the famous gang of bounty hunters would be waiting for him here. Sure the bounty on his capture was pretty high now, with his ability to create duplicates he had managed to easily rob over twenty six banks all over Japan. But he never thought they'd be able to track him down so easily. He was hiding in a corner, while he could hear the two clansmen running after his double on the third floor, while two others were chasing another one on the first. It wouldn't belong before they caught them and realize they were just duplicates. He had to escape now. He was fast enough to make them run around a bit. There was a door and elevators leading to the parking lots. He could get away from there. He started running in the direction of those doors, when he heard cursing from the floor above.

"Crap! Another duplicate."

They already caught him? These guys were dangerous. The strain created another double and sent him to where those two were to keep them busy before resuming his running towards the elevators. But once he reached them, he froze on the spot. In front of those doors, nine men dressed in blue uniforms were blocking his way. Once they saw him, they quickly formed a circle around him to keep him from escaping and unsheathed their swords. It seemed that SCEPTER 4 had been faster this time. His only other option, was to jump off the railing and land on the first floor six meters below and break both legs in the process. Surrounded, he tried his last option. He grinned at them. Akimya who was leading the small group, took a step closer.

"Tomoe Hiroshiki. You are under arrest for theft of top secret government document and illegal sales."

"Too bad for you guys. My original body is already out of here. You clowns are way too slow to catch me."

The blue clansman, grinned back. "Nice try. You're bluffing." He said, taking a small electronic object that looked like a black cellphone with a small screen. "This is an aura scanner. Yours is a lot more concentrated here. This is your real body. Are you going to resist?" He asked showing the man

The strain clenched his teeth. This couldn't be it. He's lived this way for ten years without ever getting caught. This could not be the end! Two blue clansman gave each other high fives.

"Looks like we win this time."

"Yeah. The red clan didn't even have time to see us come. They were too busy chasing around the doubles. When it comes to using their brains, they're not really the best option."

The strain quickly took a round shaped object with a red button on it. He was going to release the gas and escape without even breaking a sweat. Except he didn't even have time to drop the bomb. Something really heavy collided with his back, throwing him face first on the ground. Hitting his head in the process, the strain didn't even have time to understand what happened before he fainted. The blue clan froze in place and they blinked a couple times before even they understood. Caramel colored hair held in a ponytail, open red sweatshirt with sleeves brought up to the elbows over a V-neck white shirt, beige shorts over black leggings, white sneakers and on the uncovered ankle, the HOMRA insignia. Knee pressed against the passed out strain's back, she looked up and smiled.

"Taiga?" Asked Akiyama.

"Sorry guys. This one is ours. Yo, catch!" She stated, before really quickly getting off of him, grabbing him by the sweatshirt with both hands and throwing him over the railing. On the first floor, the red clan's womanizer along with Masaomi caught the unconscious criminal before he could crash on the ground.

"Got him! Thanks Taiga!"

"Get out of here. And don't forget to pick me up this time." Shouted the girl at her fellow clansmen.

The two of them hurried out of the mall to join Kosuke and Eric and go collect the reward for Hiroshiki's capture. Taiga turned to the blue clansmen, her golden eyes sparkling.

* * *

 **Taiga's POV**

Akiyama sighed when he put away his sword. "And again, the red clan is interfering. Do you get a kick out of this?"

"Kind of." I replied shrugging. "It's like a race every time you and I are on the same case."

The blue clansman shook his head. He approached the girl and raised the handcuffs. "Red clansman Yoruichi Miwa, you are under arrest for interference with SCEPTER 4 mission. Will you resist?"

I presented my hands. "No. Do you really have to repeat that every time you arrest me?" I ask as he cuffs me.

"I don't expect a red to understand what official means."

"Don't be mean. It's much easier to deal with me than with anyone else in the clan."

Akiyama chuckled. "That's true. I'd rather deal with you than Yatagarasu."

After a quick car ride, the blue clansmen escorted me to SCEPTER 4 HQ and as usual made me wait in a holding cell for two hours. I had started counting my hair when the door finally opened. A blue clansman with messy brown hair, glasses and a pissed off face entered. I smiled at him.

"I'm gonna start thinking you like getting arrested and building up a record because of those idiots."

"Nice to see you too Saru. And not true by the way. I'm bored out of my mind. What have you been up to? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Working."

"I don't know why I asked. Well, it was about time they came for me."

"They didn't. I'm here to talk to you."

I froze and my smile disappeared. He was in serious mode. Just looking at his face I knew it had something to do with the Purple Clan. He entered the cell and the door closed behind him. He came to sit next to me and worked on his touchscreen tablet a little before turning it to me. It was a picture taken by the city's security cameras. On it, there were a bunch of pedestrians waiting for the green light. But only one caught my eye. It was Keiji. I stared at the picture and gulped. I knew SCEPTER 4 had continued to track Ryu all this time, but we hadn't heard from them all this time, aside from a false rumor about more trafficking. Ome had studied the aura capsules for weeks and hadn't found a single purpose for them. And this was the first valid hint that we had of their whereabouts.

"Where was this taken?"

"This was taken in Hokkaido two weeks ago." Said Saruhiko, before flipping to the next picture where this time, both twins were present. "And that was a week ago, near Hiroshima. I suppose they didn't try to get in contact with you."

"I would have told you." I said keeping my eyes on the picture. "No sign of Ryu I suppose?"

"No." His phone rang and he answered it. "Fushimi here... alright, thanks." He hung up. "You're ride is here."

He stood up and faced me, taking keys out of his pocket in the process. "Wait, you didn't even make me sign the papers..."

"We don't have time to take care of worthless paper. The King said to release you whenever."

"Then you kept me here for the fun of it?" I growled.

"I had to finish my work before we could talk. And going to HOMRA is a pain in the ass. I just made it convenient for me."

"Gee thanks."

He clicked his tongue in annoyance and grabbed my wrist to unlock the iron bracelet. I rubbed my wrist and he he once more searched his pocket to take out the knife he gave me and my cellphone. I grabbed them and put them in my own, as I followed Saru who led me to the front door. As we walk through the hallways, I notice the bags under his eyes.

"What's got you so busy?"

"Ever since the Gold and Silver Kings went missing, the Captain's been looking after the Slates and the strain incidents have doubled. That's why we really don't have time to deal with you. By the way, if you get a special invitation for the game JUNGLE, don't accept."

I raise an eyebrow. "I'm not a gamer so I wouldn't anyways, but why are you telling me this? And why would I get a special invitation?"

"Just make sure you don't. And tell me if you get it."

Saru left me at the front door and left. He really did seem more irritated than usual. I crossed the court quickly and walked out the gate. Rikio was waiting for me on his motorcycle. He waved at me when he saw me.

"Sorry for the tardiness. Yo called like fifteen minutes ago."

"I swear, next time he'll be the one spending two hours in a cell."

We both rode back to the bar. When we got there, I was surprised to see the bar empty. Only Anna was present, sitting in a chair and reading a book. She looked up when I opened the door and smiled.

"Welcome home, Taiga. Rikio."

"We're home Anna. Everyone left you alone? What jerks."

"I'm not alone. They left Misaki with me. She pointed her finger towards the couch under the window. Indeed, HOMRA'S skateboarding captain was sound asleep there. I smiled and shook my head.

"Note to self : never let Yata babysit." I said, chuckling.

Anna suddenly stood up and walked over to the red clansman. "Rikio. Can we go buy some ice cream?"

The big clansman didn't have to be asked twice and the two of them started walking out. But just before she passed the door, Anna turned to me and gave me a wink. I rolled my eyes and smiled to myself. Looks like even Anna wanted me to have some alone time with my favorite clansman. I pulled a chair at the end of the couch and sat on it. I leaned on the armrest and looked at Yata's sleeping face. He too had bags under his eyes, although not as big as Saru's. He didn't have his beanie so his hair was free and messed up. I played with the small bangs near his forehead. Five months... Has it really been this long? I couldn't exactly call him my boyfriend. First off because we couldn't go out on dates because we didn't have time between training and work. And now was even worse. Truth was now a lot of people were asking for our help in catching criminal strains, and when we were done, we were usually exhausted. Even though my training has been going well, I still had a long way to go before I could really take any of them on. And second, even if we did confess to each other, nothing really happened since then. I personally blame the lack of time and Yata's shyness and mine combined. On one hand it amused me, but on the other I really wished we could be more comfortable with each other. Yata was working a lot more than anyone else right now. Mr Mikoto was often out of the bar when we weren't working and so he left most of the job to his clansmen. I had been wondering about that too. It wasn't like him, but we didn't ask any questions. My personal opinion was that he was meeting with Mr Munakata to talk about all the fuss with the strains and the multiple appearances of new green clansmen. Yashiro's sudden disappearance had caused quite the confusion. Neko and Kuro had split up and looked all over Japan to look for him. I haven't seen them in months. Kuro called from time to time to check on me but that was it. Everyone was all over the place all the time, including us. And that left very little time for me and Yata to work on our relationship. But there was one thing I knew for sure : this guy was still making my heart beat like crazy. And whenever I was with him, I felt stronger than ever. When he was asleep like that, the way his face relaxed gave me some peace of mind. And I was dying to call him by his first name. Although that would probably piss him more off if I did. The only ones who could get away with it, were his own mother and Anna. I was too used to call him Yata, but secretly, I really loved his name. It suited him in a strange way. He suddenly growled in his sleep and moved a little. He mumbled something unclear. I laughed a little before bringing my head just above his. I waited for him to open his eyes completely. They widened completely when he realized it was me. I smiled.

"Good morning, sleepy-head. Or good afternoon really."

I saw his cheeks turn red but he didn't look away (that's what I meant with progress). "S-sup?"

He sat up and slowly stretched and yawned really loudly. "You stayed up all night again?"

"Yeah. I had to go out of Shizume to get info on some gang that's been causing trouble."

"Did you get it?"

"Better than that, I found them and kicked their asses." He declared proudly. "But the fight was kind of boring. It didn't even last ten minutes."

"As expected of our Yatagarasu. So reliable."

He frowned and made a pouting face. "Are you making fun of me?"

"No, no, I promise. Hey, you have bed hair." He suddenly blushed again and took his beanie out of his pocket before putting it roughly on his head.

"No need to be embarrassed over that. My hair is always a mess at the end of the day."

"I am not!" Denied the clansman. "Anyways where were you? Chitose and the others came back hours ago..."

"SCEPTER 4 HQ. In a holding cell for two hours."

He suddenly seemed very awake and sprang up to his feet. "What?! You got arrested again?"

"Yep."

He cracked his knuckles and clenched his teeth, clearly pissed. "I'm gonna murder those bastards." He muttered with a dark aura surrounding him.

"Calm down Yata. You know it's easier and less costly when I do it."

"Letting you build a criminal record for us isn't okay!"

"Don't be mad. They let me get away with everything this time. They're too busy."

"That doesn't make it okay!" He growled sitting back down. He crossed his arms on his chest and blushed a little again when he asked. "D-did the blues treat you right at least?"

"Yeah, don't worry. They're getting used to me. And unlike you guys I don't resist so they like dealing with me better. They're actually pretty nice to me."

"Tch. They better!"

We were quiet for a while, until Yata realized that no one else was in the bar. He rubbed the back of his head and then stood up. "Hum, you want something to drink?"

"I won't say no to a Sprite."

I went to sit at the counter while the crow, went around it to grab me a can of sprite along with a glass. While I poured the sparkling drink in it while he leaned on the counter facing me, and opened a can of beer, drinking directly from it. He turned twenty not too long ago, but watching him drink alcohol was still kind of strange. I guess it was because he could be really childish sometimes.

"Why are you staring at me?" He asked.

"I was staring? Sorry." I smiled and felt my cheeks heat up at the same time. "I guess I can't take my eyes off you. I feel like I haven't seen you in a while. I missed you."

His face flushed and fake coughed, before bringing his can at his lips again. "... That's stupid. I'm not goin' anywhere, ya know..." He mumbled before drinking. I drank too but didn't stop looking at him. He saw me from the corner of the eye. He put his can down and looked at me again, leaning his face still red towards me.

"Seriously..." He said slowly. "Cut it out."

"Okay." I replied.

But I still didn't detach my eyes from his. It's not like I was trying to tease him or anything like that. I just... seemed to be hypnotized. I did feel embarrassed for staring but... I somehow couldn't get over it. I could hear my heart beat accelerate a little. Our faces were roughly six inches from each other. Yata's face crisped a little before he placed a hand in front of my eyes.

He said, nervously. "Are you hoping to make holes in my head by staring?"

"No, I just really like your face." I replied, as my view was blocked. 'And I was kind of hoping you'd kiss me.' I thought.

Since we didn't have much time to work on our relationship, us kissing was rare. In fact, truth be told, I could count on my hand the times we'd kissed since the first time. And it was always in a specific setting. Just the two of us. Neither of us had the guts to openly kiss in front of the others, even though our relationship was not a secret at all. And the guys don't miss an opportunity to tease us. It was frustrating me but I couldn't do anything about it. I think Yata is confused by his sudden boyfriend status with me. It's understandable with his personality. But sometimes I just … Something warm pressing against my forehead interrupted my train of thought. It surprised me but I welcomed the kiss, even though it only lasted a few seconds. It was just one of those tiny things that reminded me that my heart fluttered only for this guy. When Yata pulled back, he removed his hand from my eyes. Both of us were visibly crimson, and I was about to say something when the door opened. Yo, Masaomi, Shohei and Kosuke and Eric walked in laughing and talking really loudly. But Yo froze when he saw that I was throwing him a pissed off look. He brought his hands together and bowed.

"I am so sorry, Taiga! Please forgive me!"

"That's the third time you forget Yo. I had to wait two hours in a cell block, you airhead!"

Masaomi sighed. "And for the third time, I had to remind him."

"You know what? Next time, you take the blame and spend two hours chained up." I growled.

"I said I was sorry. Hold on." He suddenly grinned. "You two were alone together just now. Did we interrupt some..."

An empty can of beer collided with his face before he could finish that sentence. "One more word, and I'll throw you out the window, Chitose!" Threatened the crow. Then we felt the terrifying dark aura of an angry bartender. Mr Kusanagi walked into his bar.

"Chitose, pick that up right now. Yata, if I ever see you littering in my bar again, you are going to loose your ears." He smiled at me. "Looks like our red lady is back. Tell me you guys. Why is it that every time you clash with the blues during a recovery mission, our lady ends up in a cell? You should be ashamed of yourselves."

I laughed at the guys mumbling excuses before turning to the bartender. "Why isn't Mr Mikoto with you?"

"He wanted some alone time. He'll be back this evening."

In the evening? The guy who spends most of his day sleeping suddenly gone for a day long trip? Suspicious. I was about to ask more when my PDA suddenly rang. I took it out of my pocket. It was an email. I opened it. My eyes widened when I saw the inscription on the card.

 _ **CONGRATULATIONS!**_

 _You've been granted the status of Special Player for JUNGLE!_

"Holy! Saru was right!"

"What is it Taiga?" Asked the barman.

I showed the rest of the clan the invitation. "Saru told me I might get one. What is JUNGLE anyways?"

"JUNGLE's the name of the green clan. And I heard that this game was created by the Green King and that it's very popular." Explained Mr Kusanagi. "I also heard some green clansman have been attacking the USAGI recently. Although they weren't really a match for them."

"Is that why SCEPTER 4's been keeping watch over the Gold King's tower?" I asked.

"I suppose. That's where the Slates are being held. I wonder what the Green King has cooking up, but it's been like this ever since the Gold and Silver King have gone missing. That's what Seri told me. His attack pattern is too obvious though. The attackers barely hold in a fight. But it looks like he's trying to get the Blue King's attention badly."

"Back to that game, why would I get a special status if I don't even play?"

"That's what I'm wondering too."

Yata frowned. "It's not like they have beef with us. They're only going after the blues. It's none of our business."

"Don't be selfish." I scolded.

"Don't worry Taiga, they're only potential threats for now. And the blue clan is far from defenseless."

RING. RING. RING. I picked up my PDA. "Hello?"

" _TAIGA!"_ Shouted a loud familiar voice in my ear, so loudly that I pulled the phone away from my ear to avoid ending up deaf. _"WHERE ARE YOU? WE NEED YOU!"_

"Neko? Slow down. Are you guys back in town?"

" _Yeah, and we didn't even have time to go home. The mean blue boss with glasses took Kurosuke to his big palace! I don't want to see him, but I'm worried about Kuro!"_

"Kuro's been arrested?!" I asked, not believing what I was hearing.

" _Not arrested, taken! We were attacked by weird people wearing shiny green helmets and then the mean guy with glasses called for him! I don't know what to do, nya!"_ She complained.

What was that all about? "Calm down Neko. Why don't you come at the bar and stay with Anna for a bit? I'm gonna try to figure out what's going on."

" _Hmm... okay..."_ She pouted.

"See you." I hung up. "Great. What's Mr Munakata up to now?" I growled getting up. "I'm going back to SCEPTER 4 to see what's going on. Neko's gonna come here."

Yata made a face. "This isn't a crashing place for other clansman, you know."

"Oh, come on. Neko's not gonna hurt anyone." I said. "Be back later guys."

"Be careful." Said Mr Kusanagi.

* * *

 **Shizume's streets**

I ran outside and headed for the second time today towards the blue clan's HQ. Why did green clansman attack Kuro and Neko? Did that mean they were also after the silver clan too now? And seeing how I received that invitation, maybe HOMRA was next in line. I made a note to talk with Mr Mikoto when he came back this evening. I took shortcuts to avoid taking an hour, and stopped at some point wen I noticed a bunch of nasty looking guys surrounding a kid who looked about thirteen, tops. The kid in question didn't look scared at all. Just annoyed. But the nine men surrounding him seemed like they were trying to extort money from him.

"Come on kid. Give up your wallet and we won't hurt you."

"Tch. You guys are a pain." Replied the boy, annoyed.

"Don't play smartass with us, kid!" Shouted one grabbing him by the collar.

"Hey!" I called out to them. They turned around. "You guys must really have low self-esteem if you pick on kids like that."

"What's with the chick?"

"Get lost, bitch. Or you're gonna get hurt too."

"Hold up man, she's cute. Maybe we can have fun with her."

A couple of them approached me. I clenched my fist and was about to summon the red aura to scare them away, when the boy suddenly grinned and called out to me. "Hey Miss! Wanna play a game with me?" He asked.

I looked at him confused. "A game?"

That's when I realized he had some sort of long rod in his hand. He pointed it towards me and declared. "Whoever takes down more of these guys wins!" He declared. "I'll give the go. So what do you say, Miss?"

I blinked a couple times. So this kid could easily defend himself alone, if I understood correctly. And he wanted to have fun with it. Sounded like some people I knew. Those punks didn't seem like they would let us leave peacefully anyways. They needed a lesson and I was more than happy to oblige I smiled. "You're on."

One of them growled and took a step closer to me. "Hey don't ignore u...hhhhhhhhh!"

Yeah, right where it hurts. I didn't wait for the others to realize what was happening and sent my foot flying in the next one's jaw. Six months of training everyday with the guys was starting to pay off. I was nowhere near Yata's level though. But my gymnastic background was giving me an advantage with dodging and jumping especially. My attacking still needed a lot of work though. I was gradually finding my own style. But I was more than a match for common street punks now. Another one threw himself on me. I spun and avoided his punch easily before throwing my elbow in his side. His breath got cut off and he fell on the ground. Another pulled a knife out, but I saw it coming. I took out Saru's dagger and threw it at his hand, making the switchblade fly out of his hand. I came running at him, jumped and rebounded on the wall next to him, and kicked him on the side of the head, knocking him out cold.

I turned to see if the kid was alright... only to see him sitting on a trashcan as if he was waiting for me. Next to him on the ground, the rest of the group was passed out.

"Are you finally done Miss?" He jumped off the trash, his rod on his shoulders. "I took out five of them, and you only took out four. This means I win."

"Well aren't you a cheeky brat." I said. "Looks like you didn't need my help after all."

"No I didn't. But I felt bad that you stopped just for that. It was a boring fight but thanks for playing with me Miss."

'That kid... sounds like he gets into fights a lot. That and he even seems stronger than me. Impressive... and kind of scary.'

"So Miss, what's my prize?" He asked. "I'm the winner, you gotta give me something. These guys weren't worth any points and I hate to play games if I don't get anything."

Cheeky indeed. But it amused me so I decided to play along. "Prize? Hum, I don't know. What do you want?"

"Do you play JUNGLE Miss? If you do, you could give me a thousand points."

JUNGLE? Again? "No, sorry."

He pouted, and rubbed the back of his head in irritation. "Well this sucks. I guess you can buy me a popsicle then."

"You're one bossy little guy, you know?" I said. "But I guess a loss is a loss. Come on."

A few minutes later, the boy and I were sitting on a bench. He was eating his ice cream and I was just staring at him. This kid seemed, well... off. But if he was a JUNGLE player, he could help me.

"So, you're a JUNGLE player."

"Yep. I'm a J-rank." He said proudly. "You're not half bad Miss, by the way. I'm way better than you, but you look tougher than most players. You could probably make it to the G or N rank."

Now he sounded like a gamer trying to explain a complicated RPG to a non-gamer. Which basically means he might as well have been speaking Russian to me, the result would have been the same for me. Not understanding a word.

"Maybe you can help me." I took my PDA out and opened the invitation mail. "Do you know what this is?"

The kid leaned forward and looked at the invitation curiously before making a surprised face and then grinning again. "So it's you. The special guest. I never thought I'd meet you out of the blue like that. You really don't look like you belong to the Reds. That's too bad. You should really come play JUNGLE."

He stood up and tossed his stick in a nearby trash, while I stared confused. "Special guest? What does that mean?"

"Means you can play without taking any damage. It's kind of cheating if you ask me and I hate cheaters. But it's not your fault. It's all cause that guy interfered. What a killjoy." He had a dark look in his eyes, but then his cheeky smile came back. "I know! When the red clan's gone, you can come play with us more, Miss. See ya later!"

He started running away. "What? Wait!"

He stopped and turned around one last time. "By the way Miss? My name's Sukuna Gojo. You should remember it. Bye!"

Before I could even call out to him again, he crossed the street, easily jumping over or dodging the passing cars and disappeared in another street. What was he talking about? When the red clan is gone? 'This game... is it really just a video game? Something tells me the Looks like Saru owes me a better explanations. Whatever the case, I needed to clear things up. I turned around and quickly started running towards SCEPTER 4's HQ.

* * *

 **...it's JUNGLE! Oh dear, tons and tons of trouble already. What is the special invitation for? What is Mikoto up to? And have we even seen Ome in all of this? So many unanswered questions! You know what you must do to obtain them... Keep reading and PLEASE REVIEW!**


	21. Chapter 21 : Return and Downturn

**Hey guys! Here's chapter 21! Three questions for you! 1 Guess who's back? 2 What is the special invitation for? 3 Who's coming? You don't know the answer? Start reading and you'll find out!**

 **Enjoy! ;)**

* * *

 **Ashinaka High School dorm** **s**

After recovering Kuro from SCEPTER 4's HQ, I ended up spending the day with him at Ashinaka Island. Neko joined us soon after and he explained to me why the Blue King had summoned him.

"He was offering you shelter?" I asked in disbelief. "From what?"

"Ever since Neko and I got back yesterday, we've been attacked by Green Clansmen. Reisi Munakata and I agreed that it's not us that they're after. They're trying to lure out Shiro by targeting us, the only Silver Clansmen there are."

"I see. I guess your search for Shiro didn't lead anywhere."

He looked at the ground sadly and nodded. I placed a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know where he went, but I'm sure he's out there. And he's going to come back, no matter how long it takes."

"YES HE IS!" Shouted Neko. She came closer to us and showed a small red marble to Kuro.

"Did Anna give this to you?"

"Yeah, she did! And look, I can see Shiro!"

Kuro's eyes widened and he took it from her. "You're right! Shiro! Can you hear me? Shiro!"

I couldn't see anything but that didn't surprise me. Anna told me the marbles connect people who have strong bonds together, and as much as I liked Yashiro, my connection with him was much less powerful than Neko and Kuro. I smiled happy that they could see him.

"He won't hear you." I told them. "The only way to communicate with marbles is for the other person to have another. But at least you can be sure he's alive now."

The two clansmen seemed really happy at my words and both smiled at me. "Thank you Yoru." Said Kuro. "And please thank Anna for us as well."

"I will. Won't you guys consider just staying here for a while? I'm sure Shiro will come back whenever he'll be done. And it will be here."

"That's what I told Reisi Munakata when I turned him down. Speaking of which, your clan hasn't had any trouble with the Green Clan?"

"No. But I did get this weird invitation I told you about. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before we get pulled in as well."

"How can you tell?"

"Gut feeling. And it's not a good one."

"It seems unlikely. They are after us because they're trying to get the Silver King's attention. And they're attacking the blue clan because they're protecting the Gold King's tower. But I don't see why they would have a reason to attack your clan..."

"I hope you're right. Enough about annoying business. I'm so glad you two are finally back."

Neko threw herself on me and hugged and cuddled me. "We missed you too! I was happy to see Anna too! She's gotten taller since I left! And glasses-guy made pancakes for me! HOMRA's so cool! Oh, but skateboard guy didn't stop frowning and kept saying stuff like 'you shouldn't just act so freely in other people's HQ'!"

I held back a laugh thinking of Yata helplessly trying to lecture Neko. Then Kuro and I talked about my training. My 'big brother' wasn't exactly okay with me exchanging blows with the guys from my clan. But honestly they weren't hard on me. On the contrary, they were more inclined to hold back, which annoyed me. But before Yashiro went missing, I also practiced with my father's adoptive son. It was very useful. Kuro being stronger than Yata and Saru combined, it could only help. And he had the decency to not go easy on me. But the second we were out of training mode, he would make sure I had to eat, that everything was alright with the clan and everything else... a real mother-hen. But I didn't mind. It was nice having someone like that around. Plus, we always talked about my father and the more I knew, the happier I was. From what I heard, Ichigen Miwa was a gentle, caring and peaceful man. Kuro even had his voice recorder full of my father haikus (which was kind of really weird and creepy). But I'm glad he had that. Knowing what my father sounded like was more than I could ask for.

"How are things going with Mikoto Suho?" Asked Kuro.

"Same as ever. Although he goes out a lot more lately." I said. "We have tons of work too. Always running around after bounties. And I got arrested again for the eleventh time..."

"What?!"

'Oops! Shouldn't have said that.' "I-I mean that SCEPTER 4 brought me in to sign the papers for interfering, because we were after the same guy and..."

"And these careless punks let you build a criminal record?" A murderous aura suddenly surrounded him and he unsheathed half of his katana. "I clearly need to have a talk with these bastards."

"Calm down, Kuro. I get arrested because it's easier to deal with it."

My PDA suddenly rang in my pocket and I took it out. It was Yata. "Hello?"

"Taiga where are you?"

"Ashinaka, with Kuro. Do you need me for something?"

"I'm there too. Can you meet me in the court?"

"Why?"

"Just come down. I need your help with something." He urged, growling. He sounded distraught. I said bye to Kuro and Neko and headed down in the court. Ashinaka High's court is more than gigantic, and it took me a while to find Yata. I spotted him because of his red sweatshirt. I smiled when I saw him. He looked nervous about something though and was hiding something behind his back. I jumped on the ramp of the stairs and slid down.

"Yata!" I called. I jumped off and jogged towards him. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

"Anna asked me to bring something back to that cat strain girl." He said awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. "She forgot it at the bar."

"And why do you need me?"

He showed me what he was hiding and handed it to me. It was a small paper bag with something in it. "Can you give it to her?"

"Why can't you do it yourself?"

"I just can't!"

I raised an eyebrow and looked inside the paper bag, a little curious. When I saw what was inside, I froze. I would have been shocked but this was so like Neko to forget her panties. I tried to stop myself from laughing but couldn't. Yata got even redder and looked away.

"Don't laugh!"

"You're right, you'll get arrested if you're caught with that. Not to mention you'd be labeled as a pervert." I closed it. "Don't worry, I'll take the burden off you. You can relax."

"Thanks." he mumbled relieved.

"Do you mind waiting for me? Unless you still have work." Which I really hope he didn't. First because I really wanted us to spend some time together. Second, he really needed to rest.

"S-sure! I'll just wait here."

I ran back inside the dorms and went up to go to Yashiro's apartment. I knocked only to have no one answer the door. I turned the doorknob, and saw that the door was locked. 'They must have stepped out. They can't be far.' I ran in the hallways until I ran into Kukuri, a classmate of Shiro. I asked her if she had seen them and she told me he'd received a rendezvous letter from a girl, asking him to meet at the bridge. I sighed and sent a text to Yata to tell him to meet me outside at the gates instead, before heading there myself. But when the bridge came in sight, it was not the confession scene I was hoping to see. Neko was cowering behind one of the bridges pillar, calling out for Shiro and Kuro was on his knees, his katana a couple meters from him. And standing in front of him, holding his sword at the young samurai's throat, Yukari Mishakuji was making a sad but resolute face. Suddenly my head started hurting and I shut my eyes. An image of Kuro getting his throat slit by Yukari's sword appeared in my mind. He wasn't going to spare him this time. My feet moved on their own and I started running full speed towards the two of them. At the same time, I summoned the red aura on my hand and brought it to my mouth. Once closer, I concentrated my aura in my feet and jumped five meters high. As expected, the green clansman looked up. I took a deep breath before spitting out the aura I'd swallowed and quite literally breathing fire towards the green clansman. That technique of mine was very incomplete since I'd only been working on it for the past two weeks. Of course he had no trouble dodging it but it forced him away from Kuro and I landed right in front of the young samurai.

"Back off Yukari!" I threatened, getting to a fighting stance.

"My, my! It's good to see you again, Yoruichi. Unfortunately, I have no business with you today. Would you mind stepping away from my adorable Kuro? I need to send him back to our master. King's orders."

'King's orders? Then the Green King is really after Yashiro.' I let my entire body catch fire and gave him a death glare. "Go ahead and try."

I wish I could mean that completely. But my legs were shaking. 'Calm down, Taiga. You have to think.' I ordered myself. 'Yukari is a hundred times stronger than me. Rushing in recklessly is not going to work. I don't want to, but if I use the purple aura, I may be able to break his sword. It won't be much, but at least Kuro will have an advantage with his katana.'

I took a deep breath and try to calm my shaking body, and threw a quick glance at Kuro before turning back to Yukari. I summoned Ryu's aura and the purple fog surrounded my hands and forearms. Yukari smirked.

"You look a lot more able than the first time we met. Unfortunately, you're still but an unpolished raw stone. With the proper training, you could be dazzling in no time."

Just hearing him talk was making more and more unsure of my plan. If I wanted to break his sword, I'd have to get very close to him. My chances of success were very low. I had to buy time.

"You're … highly ranked in JUNGLE aren't you?"

He made a surprised look. "I am. Why this question?"

"What is the special invitation?" I asked.

"Oh, so Nagare has already sent it to you? I thought he'd wait until we got under the Red King's skin. He must be getting quite impatient. Oh, well..."

"Tell me!" I insisted.

"That invitation means you can play the game without taking any damage."

That's exactly what Sukuna had told me. "What does a stupid video game has to do with all of this? And what do you mean by playing without taking any damage?"

"Oh dear. Seems you haven't realized what the game is yet. You'll figure that out soon enough. But for now, you should get out of my way. I'd hate to have to remove you by force." He said pointing his blade towards me. I blinked once, and the green clansman was right in front of me, his sword backwards in his hand. And before I could even think of blocking, the handle of his katana collided violently with my stomach, cutting off my breath and sending me flying back. I rolled on the ground a little and then coughed to catch my breath, holding my stomach.

"Be a good girl and stay down while I take care of things."

"YUKARI MISHAKUJI!" Shouted Kuro.

The young samurai threw himself on his former fellow clansman. Their blades collided and Kuro gave him an intense death glare.

"Do not touch her!"

"Oh, are you angry that I pushed aside such a precious memento of our master, Kuro? You should look at your face. Truly beautiful."

"Spare me your comments! You came to fight me!"

"Indeed I did!"

They engaged in combat. Following them with just my eyes was almost impossible, both were extremely fast as well as extremely elegant. But it was still obvious to me that Yukari had the upper hand. Kuro seemed exhausted while Yukari kept smiling creepily. Neko was at my side shaking me and asking if I was okay. I tried to get up, but my stomach was killing me. And even if I did get up, there was no way I could interfere. I was useless in close combat against someone as experienced as Yukari. And my fire breathing attack was not precise enough for me to hit only Yukari, that was if I could even get a lock on him. I clenched my teeth. Kuro then got knocked to the ground and Yukari raised his katana to give him the coup-de-grace. I watched, eyes wide open and petrified while Neko's face was swarmed with tears.

"SHIRRRROOOOOOO!" She cried out to the sky.

At that exact moment, something crashed onto the bridge making dust fly in every direction possible.

"You invade a man's home, and even worse you attack his family? I call that the height of arrogance, Green King, Nagare Hisui." Said a familiar voice.

I smiled out of relief. I knew this voice. It looked like the Silver King had returned. And just at the right moment. What a show off. The dust fell, and I saw Yashiro, all dressed in white and old clothes, with his usual red umbrella on his shoulders. He was staring at Yukari, or more specifically at the green parrot that had apparently appeared out of nowhere and was resting on the swordsman's shoulder. 'The King is a bird?' I thought, extremely confused.

"It's an honor to meet you Adolf K. Weissman, First and Silver King." He bowed. "I am Yukari Mishakuji. A J-Rank of the green clan JUNGLE. My apologies for our King's absence, but he will speak to you through our clansman."

"Greetings, Silver King. I am Hisui Nagare, head of JUNGLE." Said a new deep voice coming from the bird, which was kind of creepy. "It seems I have finally manage to lure you out. It confirms it now : you are no longer the bystander you used to be. That makes me quite happy.

Yukari looked at the bird with a sad smile. "So you used my Kuro as bait? You kings are so cruel."

"Affirmative. Here is my next order. Withdraw immediately."

"Huh? You don't want me to take care of it?"

"No. Withdraw. That is an order. And don't forget Sukuna."

The man sighed and sheathed his sword in a very elegant but dramatic way. He took out his PDA and called the younger clansman. "Sukuna, we're leaving. Kings orders. You've played enough." He hung up and turned to Kuro this time. "In respect to your King that selflessly came to your rescue, I'll let you live. But make it interesting for me next time. Otherwise, I'll cut you down like a dead branch."

Again, I just blinked and he was gone. Neko was the first to react and ran to her king, hugging him as hard as she could and started speaking endlessly about what's been going on and asking why he left them and how worried they'd been about him. Kuro was trying hard to keep up the very polite respectful clansman act, but I could see he was this close to crying. It was nice to see the Silver Clan reunited. I knew how Kuro and Neko had been worried about him. And he did leave without saying anything to them. So many questions needed answering. But not right now. No way in hell anything was going to ruin this moment for the three of them. I slowly stood up and walked towards the small group.

"Welcome back, Yashiro." I said.

He smiled back. "Thank you Taiga. It's good to be home."

"Crying is human Kuro." I said elbowing my 'brother'.

"I am not crying." He said stubbornly.

"Huh? So the Silver King really is back." Said a familiar, childish voice.

All of us looked up to see Sukuna, standing on top of the bridge, holding his rod. He smirked cockily. "Now the game's going to be even more interesting."

With swift moves, the boy disappeared as well. 'Wait. Yukari said he's had his fun. Which means he was fighting... but with who?' I suddenly realized and gasped.

"Yata!"

I started running back towards the school, the Silver King and his clansmen close behind me. 'Please be okay.' We soon reach the court... only to find Yata and a certain blue clansman with glasses arguing with each other about something... I let out a sigh of relief before shaking my head at them, knowing it was something stupid.

"I could have had him, if you hadn't been in the way."

"Say what?! I saved your butt back there, monkey!"

"It's called unwanted help. A concept you're probably not familiar with."

"You callin' me stupid?! Say it again I dare you!"

"Fine, stupid!"

"Yata, Saru. Take it down a notch maybe? This is a school."

They both turned to me. Both of them frowned. "Is there something on my face?"

"Yes there is." Said Saru. "Blood."

"Oh right." I was probably covered in scratches. "We ran into trouble."

"We?" Said Yata.

"Hum, excuse me boys?" The three of us turned to the Silver clan. "Could you pass on a message to your Kings for me?" Said Yashiro with a smile.

* * *

 **Shizume streets**

Yata and I were now walking through the streets of Shizume, heading back towards the bar, both lost in thought. He was glancing at me every five seconds until he finally decided to speak. He brought his hand up and gently touched my cheek.

"You alright?"

"It's nothing, don't worry. I can't even feel it."

"It's not nothing. That guy could have killed you, you know. Why d'you have to barge in the fight like that?"

"If I hadn't he would've killed Kuro. I had to do something."

"The Black Dog can take care of himself. You shouldn't have interfered. When weaker fighters jump into a pro-fight, they're more a hindrance than anything else. Point is you shouldn't have interfered!"

I stopped and gave him an angry glare. "I saw him die, Yata! If I hadn't jumped in when I did, Yukari would have sliced his throat in front of me. I know! I saw it! And not because I wanted to."

He froze on the spot and then looked at the ground. With time, I'd figured out a little about my power. It worked as warning. It mostly worked when something really bad is about to happen. I saw it. I'm not sure I could call it clairvoyance because I could only see a few seconds ahead though. And it didn't apply to myself, but to the people around me. The ones I had strong connections with as Anna would say.

"Sorry. I forgot about your eyes." He mumbled. "I was just... worried."

"Well I could say the same to you." I said resuming our walk. "You fought Sukuna right? He's a J-rank too (whatever that means) I can't believe this kid is actually a clansman. Does anyone who play the JUNGLE game become a clansman? How does it work?"

"After you left, Mr Kusanagi did some digging around. He said that the whole thing works like a game. You start as an E-rank and only the J-rank get to meet the king. He said something about them doing missions to collect points and move up the ranks."

"Missions... IRL? Then it isn't a video game."

"No, the PDAs work as point collectors or something."

"I still don't understand the purpose of my invitation. If I'm suppose to play without taking any damage, what does that imply?"

"Misaki! Taiga!" Called out a sweet familiar voice.

We were now back in our turf, and the streets were pretty much empty. And the red clan's little princess in her gothic loli dress was running towards us.

"Yo, Anna!" Saluted Yata with a smile.

"Why are you here by yourself?" I asked.

"Mikoto is back." She made a sad face. "There's something wrong. The green clan is going after us."

"What do you mean?"

Before she could answer a bunch of three guys wearing green glowing electronic helmets appeared at the end of the street. They were all holding what looked like stuffed animals. In the shape of a green parrot. That seemed oddly familiar. One of them was holding his PDA and an electronic voice was heard.

" _Mission : Get rid of HOMRA's Yatagarasu. Reward : 3000 points. Mission: get rid of Anna Kushina. Reward : 1000 points."_

"What the hell..." I said.

"All right!" Said one of them. "We take them together and split the points!"

"Wait, dude. What does it say about the chick? She's got HOMRA's stigma on the ankle but I didn't see her face in the repertoire..."

"No stats on her. Doesn't matter! Let's take 'em!"

The two of them tossed three of the stuffed animals near us. And they started inflating. Yata dropped his skate and grabbed Anna and I around the waist and jumped back as the three bombs exploded almost in our faces. 'Damn! Thank heaven for Yata's short reaction time. And his instincts.'

"You sons of bitches! Who do you think you're messing with?!" His entire body caught fire, betraying the anger inside. He threw himself on the two guys. But then I heard a voice behind us.

"Hihi! Easy points. Lucky!"

Another one was behind us a couple meters away. He tossed another parrot bomb near the little girl.

"ANNA!"

My body moved on its own once more, and the next thing I knew, I was thrown blown away (quite literally) while holding the young strain in my arms by the blast. And then I heard Yata scream our names and the electronic voice spoke again.

" _Mission fail. You loose the totality of your JUNGLE points for harming Special Player."_

* * *

 **HOMRA bar**

"So the Silver King is back, huh?" Said the red king, for once wide awake and sitting on the couch.

"Yeah, and he wants to hold a meeting with you and Mr Munakata tomorrow morning. OW!" I grunted when Mr Kusanagi pressed the antiseptic covered cotton on my bleeding forearm. The wound was the result of the explosion I'd shielded Anna from. It wasn't a big deal but it still hurt.

"Sorry Taiga." Said the barman, while bandaging my arm. "How's that? Not too tight."

"It's fine. Thanks Mr Kusanagi. I turned to the guys. "So everyone, got attacked by the green clan?"

"Yeah." Said Shohei. "These guys are picking a fight with us for no reason. Did you see that video they posted about Totsuka? I swear if I come across any of them, I'll burn'em till there's nothing left!"

"Easy guys." Warned Mr Kusanagi. "Let's not forget that most of them are idiots that think they're playing a stupid game. In other words, they're civilians. Those who do know what they're doing, meaning only those who execute N-rank missions or higher are real criminals. So what do you want to do Mikoto?"

All of us turned to the red king. Anna was sitting next to him and staring with a worried look. "Allying with Blue and Silver... Sounds like a pain in the ass." He looked at us and suddenly looked menacing. "But those guys are looking for a real fight with us. Let's burn them all."

"And if we want to wipe out the entire green clan..." Started Mr Kusanagi. "We're gonna need extra hands. Should I take that as a yes Mikoto?"

The way those two exchange glares sent shivers down my spine. Damn Mr Mikoto was scary. That video on Tatara Totsuka must have shook him up pretty badly. I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off about our king. Maybe because he was seriously angry but all of them were. I couldn't be because I didn't know Tatara. But I knew he'd died in Yata's arms about a year ago. I looked at the crow. He hadn't stopped looking at the video on Shohei's PDA and was clutching it like he wanted to break it. They looked ready for a fight. This was a very personal blow. Whoever he was, Hisui Nagare was a real bastard. Maybe I couldn't feel their pain or hate, but I could definitely sense their frustration. And just for that, that bastard was going to get a piece of my mind too. But the mood was awful right now. It wouldn't hurt to lighten it.

"Yashiro said to be there around 10." I said.

Mr Kusanagi chuckled and whispered to me. "You should warn him that this lazy bum will probably be there around 10:30."

I laughed at the comment. "Oh that's right! You guys, come on out with me." I told everyone.

I jumped off my seat and stepped out in the street, checking around to see if no one else was there. Everyone followed me out except Mr Mikoto who probably went back to his nap. Mr Kusanagi and Anna watched from the door frame.

"So, what's up?" Asked Rikio.

"Remember how I told you I got an idea for weird technique?"

"The one where you wanted to breath fire? How can we forget?" Said Yo. "I laughed for an hour."

"Well, jokes on you." I said. "Check this."

I once more summoned the red aura around my hand and brought it to my mouth. I 'swallowed' it and took a deep breath... before letting it all out towards the sky. A huge flame escaped my mouth on about seven meters, but it didn't last long until I ran out of breath. All the guys were staring in awe though.

"Well, shit Taiga. What should we call you now, HOMRA's dragon?" Said Kosuke.

"That was pretty nice." Commented Eric. "And unusual."

"Yeah. I thought your fighting style mostly involved jumping and kicking but that's some cool back-up technique." Said Masaomi. "And you've got range."

"Yeah, but it's not precise at all." I said. "That and I'm out of breath pretty fast. It's exhausting."

"Oh come on, you know it's not easy to be precise with our power." Said Shohei.

"What do you mean? Mr Kusanagi can make a whip! How's that not precise?"

WOOF! WOOF!

That bark got everyone's attention and we all looked to one side of the street. A huge Rottweiler was running towards me at full speed. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground with the huge dog on top of me, enthusiastically licking my face and whimpering happily. I was too stunned to react immediately. "T-Tux?!"

"Now that is one friendly dog." Commented Yo, who immediately got hit behind the head by Masaomi.

"Dumbass. She just called it by it's name."

"You know this dog, Taiga?" Asked Mr Kusanagi.

"Sorry about that! He's mine!" Shouted a familiar voice that I hadn't heard in years. I heard a wolf whistle. "Tux, come here baby!Leave her alone."

I quickly sat up to make sure I wasn't dreaming. A woman between her mid and late twenties, was petting the big Rottweiler. She had dark chocolate messy yet elegant brown hair held in a bun with bangs, blue eyes, tanned and fair skin... Her clothes were extremely stylish. Long brown coat over a purple dress, brown knee-high boots, lots of jewelry. Earrings, necklace, bracelets even a ring over her leather gloves. Well applied makeup. The total. She also had sun glasses on top of her head. She hadn't changed one bit. She stood up and looked at the boys.

"I'm really sorry about this. He gets a little excited. But he's a good boy, I promise." Her smile was so bright it could blind anyone.

"N-no trouble ma'am." Said Rikio, rubbing the back of his head and his cheeks turned red.

I stood up. "Lana?" I asked, unsure.

She turned to me with a surprised look and then her face brightened even more. "Yoru!" She ran towards me and hugged me as hard as she could. "I almost didn't recognize you there! I missed you so much!"

I didn't know what to do. What could I do? Different emotions were tearing me apart inside. Should I run? Should I be happy? Why was she even here? She let me go and looked at me, and never stopped smiling. _"Pourquoi tu fais cette tete? On dirait que tu n'est pas contente de me voir." *_

"Excuse me." Said Mr Kusanagi. "But who are you?"

" _Oh pardon_!"** She said turning to the rest of the clan. "My name is Lana Blanchet, I'm one of Yoru's best friends! And just so it doesn't get awkward later..." Her eyes suddenly had an air of pride. "I'm ARCHITECT."

Mr Kusanagi frowned and I saw him put his hand in his pocket to grab his lighter.

"Huuuuuh... what's ARCHITECT?" Asked Yata with a confused face.

"That's the name of the purple clan."

The boys let out a sound of surprise and all eyes turned to Lana again. She pulled her silk scarf away form the side of her neck to uncover the three rose stigma.

"Let's all get along, shall we?" She said, with a prideful tone.

* * *

 _*French : Why are you making that face? It seems like you're not happy to see me._

 _** French : Oh, sorry!_

* * *

 **Hope you liked it! And I promise next chapter will be out soon because I absolutely can't wait to show you more of Lana! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	22. Chapter 22 : Defiance and Alliance

**Hi guys! Told you I'd be back soon! I really hope you enjoy this chapter where we get to learn a little more about the newest purple clansman and where the clans finally decide to move their butts together to fight the greens! What could go wrong? (I wonder...)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"My name is Lana Blanchet. And just so it doesn't get awkward later...I'm ARCHITECT. Let's all get along shall we?"

All the boys were suddenly on guard while I remained frozen, still confused as to what to do. Lana's innocent smile quickly came back though. Tux growled at them, but she raised a hand to tell the big dog to back off.

"Now, now calm down boys." She said. " I didn't come here to pick a fight with you."

"So what?" Said Yo. "Let me guess, you came here to take Taiga back?"

"Of course not silly. I mean, I may be a clansman but that doesn't mean I can take the entire red clan on by myself you know. Especially since your King is right here." Her Japanese was flawless. "Besides, like I said..." She grabbed me around the neck and pulled me closer in a tight hug. "... I came to see Yoru. What do you say? How about a drink with an old friend?"

"..."

"What's wrong?" She asked innocently.

"Lana, why are you here?" I asked, getting out of her hold.

"That's what I want to talk about, sweetie. But would you mind if we sat down and have a drink while we talk? The trip back to Japan was exhausting and I really need to sit."

No, she really hadn't changed one bit. Fast going and straight on to business as usual. But that somehow worried me. A couple minutes later, we were sitting at the counter. I was sipping my lemonade while Lana was drinking her Mojito.

"Aah, that feels great. You make excellent Mojitos, Mr Kusanagi."

" _Et bien, merci, Mademoiselle_." Replied the bartender, politely smiling. Although, it was that fake smile that meant he was watching carefully.

She smiled seductively at him. " _De rien._ "

I hit my glass a little to violently on the counter. "Lana, quit playing around! Tell me why you're here."

"You're impatient Yoru, that's new. Is it really necessary to have all your bodyguards included in our private conversation?" She said looking at the guys, sitting at the tables around and all keeping a close eye on us.

"Yes it is. And they're not my bodyguards. Start talking. I haven't seen or heard from you in two years Lana. You didn't even bother to say goodbye or tell us where you were going when you left the clan. What's up with you suddenly showing up out of nowhere?" I knew the answer already but I was hoping I was wrong.

"The reason why I'm back is simple. I'm officially reintegrating ARCHITECT."

"Hold up. You mean the others are here?!" I asked worried.

"No. But since I was landing here, it would have been pretty rude of me not to come say hi. Although if you want their real location, you'll have to force it out of me."

"That can be arranged." Said Eric, summoning the red aura on his hand.

"ERIC!" I said. "Stop it."

He obeyed and turned the aura off. Lana continued.

"My King asked for me and I found that I couldn't refuse. I tried Yoru. I really did. But I couldn't forget him. And in those two years I was gone, I was never as happy as when he called for me a couple days ago."

I sighed. Why did I have to be the one to tell her this? "Lana, Ryu isn't the guy you think he is anymore. He's changed a lot. And he's involved in nasty stuff."

"I know. Every months, ever since I left, I received letters from Keiji. He told me everything."

I gave her a bewildered look. At least that explained why she wasn't surprised at my name change and how she knew I was a red now. "Then why?"

"I can't help it. Love doesn't die that easily. You of all people should know that." She looked sad but happy at the same time. "You know, the reason I left was because I knew I'd lost."

"Lost what?" Asked Yo curiously.

She turned to him. "Lost the man I loved to my rival." She looked at me. "I saw it, Yoru. The way he looked at you, the desire in his eyes. The pain whenever you were leaving. I couldn't take looking at you two getting closer and closer every day. So I left. Because If I didn't, I don't know what I could have done to you out of pure jealousy. I tried to leave the clan for good and go back to France. But when he called me, I realized I could never cut that bond. I never will."

I stood up and crashed my fist on the counter. "Are you insane? Do you have any idea what he did to me? Lana if you stay close to him, you're gonna get hurt too!"

She smiled sadly again. "I probably am insane. What can I say? Love makes you do crazy things. It may sound horrible for me to say this, but I wouldn't mind if he did hurt me. Maybe if you had accepted him, you would be the happiest girl in the world right now."

"Are you an idiot? If I'd given in, he would have crushed me. Is that what you call love?"

"Then tell me something. If you hate him the way you claim to, then why are you still so attached to him?"

It took me a couple seconds to process what she said. "What... did you say?"

She took my head in her hands gently and gave me a motherly look. "Yoru, I'm twenty six years old. I know a lot more about love than you. And I can tell just by looking in your eyes. You're still attached to Ryu. Your bond is unbreakable."

My eyes widened in panic, and I slapped her hands away. "You're lying!"

"Am I? Deny it all you want. You may have changed a lot, but those are the eyes of my rival from two years ago." None of that was said in a humiliating tone, but it sure felt like it.

I clenched my fists, before grabbing the bottom of my shirt and pulling it up to uncover my stomach and show her my scars. I saw her surprised face. "You see that? Guess who did it to me. He tortured me, Lana! He doesn't love me, he's obsessed with me. He wants to put me on his shelf like a collectable piece of art. He's dangerous!"

"That doesn't stop me from loving him. Why should it stop you?"

I dropped my shirt. "It should. Clearly he's not the only one clinically insane in ARCHITECT. Between you, Ryu and Keiji, I don't think anyone is safe."

Instead of getting angry at my insult, which I was hoping, she chuckled and took another sip of her drink. "I suppose your right. Fools belong together don't they?"

So that's what it was like to be blinded by love. Nothing rational. Lana was in love with a monster and what he'd done to me didn't register as important in her mind. On the contrary she was practically jealous of what I'd been through. Probably because it showed how much Ryu paid attention to me. I didn't know what to say to her anymore.

"Lana..." I let out with a voice full of pity and sadness. I was about to loose a friend I'd just got back again.

"Don't look at me like that Yoru. You know you're like my little sister and hurting you is the last thing on my mind but... If it comes down to it, I will choose Ryu over you."

Mr Kusanagi stepped in. "Are you saying your clan might clash with us?"

"It's a possibility. It all depends on you, though. And if we do, I'll be by Purple King's side."

I took a step closer and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Tell me one thing, Lana. Did Ryu ask you to come see me? Don't you dare lie to me."

"No." She was telling the truth. I knew it. Because Lana was a terrible liar, unlike Ryu. She put her glass down and stood up. "My turn to ask you something. I'm not going to ask you to come back to us. But will you please leave the Red Clan?"

She was torn, I could see that. Lana really did care for me a lot and she didn't want to be forced to fight me even though I knew she would. If our clans clashed, it would be inevitable.

"No." I said. "I'm a red and I belong here."

She sighed and smiled sweetly again. "Well, guess I'll see you on the battlefield."

"Lana, please. Don't go back." I pleaded one more time.

She smiled at me and placed her hands on my shoulders, before leaning closer to press our foreheads together. *" _L'amour est la seule passion qui ne souffre ni passé, ni avenir._ "

She was quoting Balzac, saying that love was timeless and couldn't disappear. **" _Mais le mal n'ai jamais dans l'amour._ _"_ I responded, quoting Gide. *** _"_ _Et lui il te fera encore souffrir._ "

****" _Si c'est ce qui m'attends, je prendrais tout ce qu'il a me donner._ "

She brought her lips to my forehead and planted a kiss on it. At this point, I was clenching my teeth to keep myself from crying. There was nothing I could do to stop her. I'd lost her even before she'd stepped into this bar. She then hugged me tightly.

"Take care of yourself Yoru." She let go and turned to the rest of the clan. "You boys better watch out for her. She's worth it."

"You don't need to tell us that." Said Yo.

She smiled at him and put her sunglasses on. "Must be nice. Having so many loyal comrades. Goodbye Yoru."

She patted my head one last time before heading outside and whistling for Tux to follow her. The huge Rottweiler threw a couple of glances at me and whimpered a little before following his mistress. I watched her walk away without turning around, paralyzed.

"Hum, boss?" Asked Shohei to the Red King. "Is it really alright to let her walk away like that? We could have gotten some answers out of her."

As usual Mr Mikoto growled and Mr Kusanagi answered. "There wasn't really anything we could. I don't think Taiga would have approved the interrogation."

"She wouldn't have talked." Turning back to the bar and sitting at the counter. "She may not look it, but she's a really tough girl."

"How come you never mentioned her?" Asked Rikio.

"I guess I just didn't want to. When she left without a word, I was brokenhearted. And I had no idea why she left. Even if I knew we were after the same guy, I knew she wasn't one to quite like that. And at some point, I gave up on the idea of her coming back. Why does Ryu need her? It makes no sense at all."

"Is she particularly skilled?" Asked the bartender.

"I told you. Aside from Keiji and Akihiko that were training all the time, Lana mostly spent her time reading in the library or out shopping for the latest stuff that was out. Oh, and picking up stray dogs too and finding families for them. I've never seen her use the aura, so I don't know. Although, Ryu probably does."

"You never told us how many clansman ARCHITECT has in total."

"I only ever met the twins and Lana. And I stopped counting her as a clansman after she left. Well, there's Tux too but he's a dog and he only obeys Lana."

Bando raised an eyebrow. "The dog is a clansman?"

"He's not a normal dog, he's a strain. But who knows how many secrets he's kept from me." I sat back at the counter and grabbed my empty glass. "Ryu... why does he keep poisoning everyone I get close to?" I muttered, although I'm pretty sure everyone heard me. I gripped my glass so tight that the glass cracked in my hands.

Mr Kusanagi sweat-dropped. "Taiga, my glass please..."

I immediately loosened my grip. "Sorry Mr Kusanagi!"

I sighed and reluctantly summoned the purple auras and began fixing the cracked glass. At the same time I continued. "I don't know why Ryu called her back. But he needs her for something. Otherwise he wouldn't have bothered."

"Well, we got more pressing matters right now. JUNGLE has finally started to pick a fight with us. Tomorrow, we'll probably discuss that with the Silver King tomorrow."

Mr Mikoto stood up and made his way to the door. "You guys go home and rest up."

"You're going out again?" Asked the bartender.

"Yeah."

When passing me he patted me on the head. A simple gesture that basically meant 'don't sweat it'. The red king stepped out and the boys turned to me again. I was angry, but not to the point where I could just scream to evacuate everything. Yo placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You want to go somewhere to get things off your mind?"

"Hey!" Objected my favorite bodyguard's voice, slapping the womanizer's hand away. "Where d'you get off trying to pick up someone else's girl, you perv?"

"Relax, hothead, it's not a date. It's not like you ever take her out, anyways. You don't even know how to give your girl a good time."

The crow blushed madly and hesitated before talking back."H-how does that give you permission to hit on her?"

"I wasn't!"

I couldn't even laugh at their petty fight. The only thing on my mind was imagining Lana getting torn piece by piece by Ryu. It wasn't pretty.

"Guys." Said Kosuke, getting his fellow clansmen's attention. "She's not okay."

My insides started shaking and I felt nauseous. Why was this happening again? I nearly lost my dearest friends to Ryu's sadistic games and now, I was this close to loosing Lana forever too. In that cage I almost fell in myself. When I just found out that she was fine. A warm hand then grabbed my wrist. I perked up a little and looked up to see Yata.

"Come on." He said, pulling me off my chair and towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Asked Yo.

"None of your business!" Replied the crow without even turning back.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Yata and I were on top of a huge skyscraper. We could see almost all of Shizume from here. The sun was setting and painting the sky orange and pink in the process.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked him, as he leaned on the edge.

"You were gonna cry."

"What?" I said raising my eyebrows.

"If I'd left you there, you would've cried." He hesitated a bit, and even from behind, I saw his ears turing red. "So, hum... if you wanna talk, we can talk. If not, then don't. Either way, I'm not going anywhere."

I sigh. He was probably right. I joined his side and sat down, my back against the wall. "Thanks."

I hugged my legs, and rested my head on my knees. I took deep breath, remembering the old days. I felt water drip on my legs, but I didn't sob. It looked like my problems with Ryu were still far from over. I felt Yata sit next to me. Everything felt a lot more simple when he was with me. My mind gave up all complicated thinking and quieted down. I felt better soon, once the tears were gone. Then Yata poked my shoulder. I looked up and wiped the water off my face. He pointed towards the sky. I looked up and my eyes widened. The sky was completely dark and clear, and the stars were very visible and gorgeously decorating it. No matter how many times you looked at them, the stars always fascinate you like nothing else could. It was a beautiful sight.

"Thanks Yata." I said again. "This is somehow soothing."

"You feel better?"

"A little." My stomach then started growling, and I blushed covering it. And for some, reason he blushed too and looked away.

"Wanna go get some ramen?" He asked. "I know this ain't exactly a date, but..."

I smiled and let out a small laugh. "Haha! It's a great first." I said. Honestly, I could not picture myself in a fancy restaurant with him. It wouldn't suit him. Wouldn't suit us. I'd pick ramen anytime.

* * *

 **Yata's POV**

She was crying and that was good. Letting things out. But I didn't get what was going on. The words of that woman kept ringing in my head, so much that it was pissing me off. How was she still attached to that purple bastard? After what he did to her, there was no way she still felt anything for him. Taiga was a red for a reason. She belonged with us. To us. And no way in hell was that guy taking her again. I sighed and looked up. It was a starry night. Just like that night Totsuka died.

'You're probably grinning like an idiot watching me from up there, you bastard.'

I looked at her. She wasn't making a sound, but I knew she was crying. Somehow, I was glad. That she cried in front of me. And this particular rooftop made it easier for me to understand how she felt. I just felt like an idiot for not knowing what else to do.

* * *

 **Ashinaka High School dorms, Taiga's POV**

The next day, the meeting took place. The ones present were, from the Silver clan, the immortal King, the Black Dog and Neko, from the blue clan, Reisi Munakata, Seiri Awashima and Saruhiko Fushimi, and from the red clan, Mikoto Suho, Izumo Kusanagi and Misaki Yata. All top threes of each clan. Meanwhile, the guys and I were keeping watch on the dorm building on the north and west side, while the SCEPTER 4 were guarding the East and South sides. Students were curiously gathered in front of the building, wondering what the hell was going on. I was sitting on top of a small wall, swinging my legs back and forth and looking up at the window of Yashiro's tiny apartment, wondering how the they managed to all fit in there.

"What do you think they're talking about?" I asked Shohei, who was checking some stuff on his PDA.

"The greens, what else?"

I frowned and hit him gently on the head. "I know that, dimwit. I was asking how they're planning on dealing with them."

"I don't know. They're the geniuses. We're the underlings. We just have to be patient." He replied. "By the way, are you feeling okay?"

I knew he was referring to yesterday. "No, but I'm fine. For now at least."

The clansman smile at me and ruffled my hair. "Don't worry. We got your back no matter what."

"I'm not a kid, you know." I growled putting my hair back in place. Then my PDA rang. I took it out and brought it to my ear.

"Hello?"

" _Taiga, can you come up?"_ Said a familiar voice I hadn't heard in a while. _"The Kings want you at the meeting."_

"Ome? You're here too? Since when?"

" _Early this morning. Come on up."_

I warned the guys and went up to Yashiro's room. The one who opened the door for me was the doctor strain. As usual, she was wearing her long white coat over casual clothes and her long, silver colored hair was down on her back shoulders. She looked serious though. We quickly greeted each other and I stepped into the room, after taking off my shoes. I could practically smell the tension in the air and started feeling nervous. I didn't know why though, I knew everyone here very well aside from the Blue King and the Lieutenant maybe.

"Hi." I said, a little uncomfortable just standing there. "So. Why do I get to be part of this VIP reunion?"

Saru took a step towards me and held his hand out. "Hand it over."

"Hand over what?"

"Your PDA."

I put my hand in my pocket and handed over the device. Saru looked through my messages until he found the invitation. He gave me an angry glare. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Sorry, it slipped my mind." I said but that was only half true. I wasn't sure I should tell him, although I didn't have a clear reason as to why. And from the look he gave me, I was pretty sure he didn't believe me.

"What is it Fushimi?" Asked Lieutenant Awashima.

"She received a invitation to play JUNGLE. And a Special Player Status."

"Interesting." Said the blue King with that voice I didn't like. "It seems you like dangerous games more and more, Yoruichi Miwa."

I let out a sound of surprise, not knowing if he was mocking me or not. By dangerous games, he could mean bounty hunting with the red clan or referring to what happened with Ryu. Or maybe even both. "Hey, I never played JUNGLE in my life." I protested. "I didn't even know the game existed until yesterday."

"So you say."

"Excuse me?!"

He ignored my reaction and turned to Fushimi. "What is the Special Player Status?"

"No idea." Replied the informant, looking through his own PDA this time. "It doesn't appear in any chatroom conversation from the web. But when we fought that brat, Sukuna Gojo, he said something about the Special Player joining their side soon."

"WHAT?" I turned to Yata. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

He looked away and didn't reply. Why was he trying to hide it from me? The Blue King fake coughed to get our attention again. "You had an encounter with Yukari Mishakuji did you not, Miss Miwa? Did he say anything about this?"

I wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. What was he on about? "He said that the green King sent it to me early and that it meant I could play the game without taking any damage. And then, when we got attacked by green clansman, one of them injured me and was eliminated for hurting me."

"Strange, wouldn't you say? That the Green King is so considerate of your health."

"Lay off, Munakata." Warned Mr Mikoto.

I frowned. "What are you getting at, Mr Munakata?" I didn't like this.

"Allow me to be intrigued by the attention you get from the green clan, Yoruichi."

I blinked in astonishment. He could not be saying what I thought he was saying. "You cannot be serious! Are you saying you think I'm in league with them?"

"HUUUH?!" Exclaimed Yata. "That's bullshit!"

"That's not true, nya!" Shouted Neko. "The creepy green guy said he wanted to take Neko with them too!"

"That's true." Insisted Kuro. "Your accusations are baseless."

"My, my what a blunt reaction." Said the King readjusting his glasses. "But can we really trust your word, Black Dog? You are quite close to your former master's daughter."

"Captain!" Said the Lieutenant, as surprised as I was and obviously troubled by the words of her superior.

"So you called me here to tell me that you're accusing me of being a pawn of the Green King, is that it?"

"I'm simply trying to figure out why Hisui Nagare is interested in you."

"And you really believe that she's feeding them info?" Said Mr Mikoto, as if he was saying he was stupid.

"That's ridiculous Munakata." Added Ome. "HOMRA wasn't even involve until yesterday. Let's imagine Taiga was a green spy. How the hell would she be feeding them information?"

"As it happens, she had been arrested and held in SCEPTER 4 HQ. Plenty of time to dig around."

"Something's gotta be wrong with your brain." Said the Red King, with his usual bored voice.

"It's only logical. People tend to easily leave your side anyways, Suho." Added the blue King, glancing at Fushimi. Yata growled and rose his fist, but Mr Kusanagi stopped him from doing anything. Saru clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed to be included in the conversation. Why was this guy so fixated on me? I didn't ask to get that invitation. Why was he getting so paranoid all of a sudden? Truthfully, if there was someone to suspect it wouldn't be me. In any case, I was tired of standing there and getting insulted. I stood back up.

"I'm leaving. Keep my PDA if it eases your mind. I don't care."

I started walking towards the door, but stopped when Mr Munakata called out to me. "Hold up. Walking away now is only going to make my suspicions grow. Could you possibly be running back to inform the Green King of all of this? Or perhaps... it's the purple King who's shelter you'll seek."

I didn't even realize that the anger had built up inside me. The next thing I knew, I had summoned the red aura on my fist and punched the tea table right in front of the blue King that hadn't moved an inch, and was still smirking. The table had cracked and was on the verge of breaking. The aura slowly spread around my entire body. I saw the Lieutenant reach for her sword.

"Taiga." Said Mr Mikoto. The tone in his voice was quiet, but that single word had a very complete order in it. 'Back down, he's not worth it.'

I took a deep breath to calm down and the aura slowly disappeared but my frustration didn't and probably wouldn't until much later. "Ome. While I got you here, show him."

"What?" She asked.

"Everything, so we can get this ridiculous idea out of our heads."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded. The strain doctor approached the table and placed one hand on my head and her other, on the blue King's. Her gray aura surrounded her arms and suddenly everything that had happened since the time of my amnesia up to now replayed in my mind at a sickening speed, making me want to throw up. By the time it was done, sweat drops were falling from my face onto the ground. I looked at the blue King who wasn't smiling anymore.

"Are you reassured, Mr Munakata?" I asked, aggressively.

"Yes. My apologies." He simply said putting his glasses back in place.

I turned to the silver King. He was looking at me with pitiful eyes. "Sorry about your table Yashiro."

I summoned the purple aura and set my hand on the table to fix it. When I was done I got up, slammed the door behind me, and exited the room as fast as I could.

 **External POV**

"Now that we're done with the childish games, you might want to hear my theory on this?" Said Ome. "By the way, that was uncalled for Munakata."

"Proceed."

"I think there's a link between Ryu Karasuno and Nagare Hisui."

"Do you have evidence of what you're saying?" Asked the Lieutenant.

"It's only logical thinking. While you were wasting your time looking for him, the Green King was free to operate how he felt like. Besides, obvious question, but did you find any traces of the Purple King's whereabouts or of his trafficking activities? And I already told you, these aura capsules are useless. They seem dangerous at first sight, but the second the container is opened, it just scatters in the air. The powers generated by the Slates need vessels to sustain. I've been studying it for months. With that fancy lab and the seemingly dangerous stuff he was making, he managed to get your attention long enough, for the Nagare Hisui to make a move. And now you're cooped up with dealing with them. Is my reasoning off?"

"No, I agree with you. It makes sense." Said the Silver King. "And the two purple clansman have been spotted in different parts of Japan, but Ryu Karasuno himself has vanished. Either he's hiding really well, or he fled the country."

"About that..." Started the bartender. "Yesterday another purple clansman came to our HQ..."

"Ah, yes." Interrupted the blue King. Having had Taiga's memory transferred to him, he didn't need to be told this. "This Lana Blanchet, I presume. And of course you didn't think it wise to bring her to us for interrogation."

"She didn't do anything except talking to Taiga. Besides, she hadn't been in contact with her king for two years aside from a phone call." Explained the bartender.

"You still should have brought her in."

Yashiro fake coughed to avoid another pointless argument. "What's done is done Mr Munakata. Let's now focus on the matter at hand. The Purple King affair is nothing to sneeze at, yes, but we have to take care of our direct threat for now. Now that they know the wild card is in the game, they're going to try to predict my moves and steal the slates."

"What does he want to do with it?" Asked Mr Kusanagi.

"Temper with it's immense power. Now that the Gold King is gone, if he gets his hand on it, he's going to present this power to the world."

"In other words, creating chaos throughout the entire world." Completed the blue King.

"That would be pretty annoying to deal with." Added the red King, before turning to the silver King. "You can count us in."

"Thank you, Red King."

"I also accept your proposition."

"Thank you, Mr Munakata."

"Well, then. The Tea Table alliance has been concluded."

* * *

 **Unknown location**

"So, what did you think, Yukari?"

"Of the silver King? He's quite the mystery, but you can feel his power by just standing in front of him. Thrilling really. Are you sure you'll be able to take him on, Nagare?"

"You focus on your task. Let me worry about mine." Said the Green King

"Yes sir."

"I'm bored Nagare!" Complained the youngest clansman. "Can't I go take some of them out already. I want to finish my mission."

"Patience, Sukuna." Said the oldest. "You'll all get to play soon enough."

"I didn't ask for your opinion, old man!"

"Calm down, Sukuna." Said the Green King. "Mr Iwa is right. We all need to be patient."

"Are you even sure the Purple King will keep his promise?" Said the young one turning back to his console. "I really don't like that clan."

"You mean you don't like Keiji." Said Yukari.

"Speaking of which Yukari, you hit the girl yesterday."

"Don't worry Nagare. I made sure it wouldn't leave a visible mark."

"Be more careful. Ryu Karasuno made it clear, she's not to be touched. It would be bad if he were to turn on us before we get the Slates. "

"Won't that be a problem for us?" Asked Mr Iwa taking a sip from his beer.

"No it won't. By the way, the two of you came close to her. What did you think?"

"She's very much like my old master, although her fuse is much shorter. I expect that is due to the red clan's influence. But I don't dislike it. It gives her spark. Even though she such a raw stone, she's a fiery beauty. Just imagining her polished makes me shiver with excitement."

Sukuna made a face. "You gross me out Yukari."

"And you Sukuna?"

He smiled. "She's weak but I'd like to play with her some more. Even if she has no chance of beating me, she's good sport."

"It's unlike you to want to fight weak players. You like her?"

"I guess."

"So you're into older girls? Who would have thought?" Mocked the eldest.

"Shut your trap old man!" Growled the kid, slightly blushing.

"In any case, we'll get to see more of them very, very soon." A smirk appeared on the Nagare Hisui's face.

* * *

Notes : *French : _Love is the only passion that doesn't suffer past or futur._

**French : _But evil is never found in love._

***French : _And he's going to make you suffer again._

 _****_ French : _If that's what's waiting for me, I'll take anything he has to give me._

* * *

 **Oh dear! Why did Ryu called Lana back? What's up with the Blue King being all paranoid all over again? What exactly is the relationship between Nagare and Ryu? You know what you must do to find out! PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **Also, WARNING : Intro to next chapter is a very very very pissed off Taiga. You have been warned. ;) Next chapter also includes awesome fights and a few secrets being spilled! (Insert evil laugh) Hope you're ready!**


	23. MESSAGE TO READERS

**Hey guys! After a couple of negative reviews, I re-read chapter 23 and indeed thought Taiga was out of character. So I took it out and I'm going to tweak it. I'm sorry for those of you who actually liked it. It should be out in a day or two. Thx for your patience. THE REPLACEMENT IS CHAPTER 24!**

 **And for the idiot who was at least wise enough not to put a name on his comment, READ THIS : First off, english isn't my first language, so my writing style is obviously far from perfect. Second, no one forced you to read my stories. I'm open to critic, but if you're gonna leave useless comments like that just for the hell of it, you can scram. That being said, have a nice day, hopefully away from my stories.**


	24. Chapter 23 : United and Uninvited

**Hey guys! I'm finally back, sorry for fuss. Let's check out how the Tea Table Alliance is handling the three clan partnership! ;)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Shizume streets**

After Domyoji scattered the bunch of green clansmen, they tried to run away in small groups through the alleys around. I stepped in front of one to block the exit way of three of them.

"Where do you think you're going?" I said with a cocky smirk.

One of them took out his PDA but another grabbed his hand. "Wait! I know her. She's the special player! You can't hurt her."

"That's too bad, because I can hurt you." I said sending my foot flying in one of their faces. "The rules of your game are dumb. You can complain about it to your king."

I kicked the second one in the gut and trip the last one that was trying to run away. I then dodged the punch of another that had sneaked behind me. "Who cares?" He snapped, trying to hit me again. "If we get caught, we loose anyways!"

I blocked his punch once more and took out the taser Shohei had given me, and hit him in the stomach with it. The guy fainted at my feet. "Like I said, complain to your King."

I turned around to see that the guys had taken care of the rest. Domyoji playfully swung his sword before sheathing it. "If I didn't know any better Miwa, I'd say you're enjoying this."

"Well, I am. It helps me vent out frustration. I'm tired of these guys doing whatever the hell they want." I replied to the short blue clansman. "You're having fun too Domyoji."

"Yeah you are." Added Kosuke. "I know I said this before, but you might be better off with us, man."

"Bounty hunting for the rest of my life?" Replied the cheerful young man. "No thanks."

For the next few weeks, the three clans worked together to get rid of a maximum of N-Rank green clansmen. Saru had even managed to catch a U-Rank. A ninja girl named Douhan Hirasaka. Our underground tracking network helped immensely, and combined with Saru's hacking skills, we managed to find a lot of their hiding places throughout Shizume. And aside from Saru, the blue clansmen seemed grateful for our help, even if the rowdiness of our clan was a bit too much. While us clansmen took care of that, Yashiro, Mr Munakata and Mr Mikoto were anticipating for future confrontations with Nagare Hisui and his clan. And I was glad about one thing. Mr Mikoto and Mr Kusanagi didn't keep me confined. Being out here and kicking green butt with my fellow clansmen made me feel like a true red. And man, was that the best feeling in the world. But for some reason, Mr Kusanagi and Mr Mikoto had kept Yata away from the hunting. He wasn't happy about that, but he never disobeyed orders. Ryuho Kamo, who was in charge of the operation, called the truck to take the prisoners back to SCEPTER 4'S HQ. While the guys were tying up the green clansmen, Saru was leaning against the truck, making a pissed of face.

"So were gonna pretend that we're friends?" He muttered to himself, before clicking his tongue.

I approached the irritated blue clansman. "You're talking to yourself like an old man Saru." I said as I leaned on the truck as well.

He sighed. "What do you want?"

"Can't I just ask you how you are? You're clearly not happy about cooperating with us."

"It doesn't matter what I think. The method is effective, so all I can do is put up with you."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"Neither. It's just facts. By the way, should you even be here?"

"Well I wasn't going to sit my butt in HQ waiting for things to happen. Been there, done that."

"That's stupid reasoning. You don't know what the Green King wants with you and you just offer yourself up out in the open. Mr Kusanagi must be getting old."

I frowned. "Keep your insults to yourself Saru. What's your opinion on the matter?"

"I think the doctor strain has a point. And if the Purple King and Green King know each other, then there's a high chance Nagare Hisui knows about your eyes."

"I don't see how they could be useful to him. I can only see things when people close to me are in danger."

"I'd say your ex-king threatened him." Replied the blue clansman. "The bastard doesn't like it when anyone else touches you. That was pretty clear. By the way, have you accepted that invitation?"

"Of course not."

"Good." He looked at his watch. "We have to get going. The white haired king asked for a meeting with everyone at the Island. Tch. What a pain."

I chuckled and shook my head. "You really are like an old man Saru."

"And you're like a careless brat."

I stuck my tongue out at him before joining my clan. I was surprised to find HOMRA'S skateboarding Captain with them.

"Yata! What are you doing here?"

"Mr Kusanagi said I could come but you guys were already done." He had a nasty look on his face. "What were you talking about with the four-eyed monkey?"

"Just chatting about the greens. And my Special Player status. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. Come on, we gotta go to the island."

I nodded and all of us started making our way to the metro station. Yata kept throwing glances over his shoulder to look at me. He must have been in a pretty bad mood to be glaring like he was. When SCEPTER 4'S vehicle passed us, he watched it pass with a murderous glare until it turned a corner. I jogged a little to catch up to him.

"Is everything okay Yata? You look … well, angry." I asked. "Did something happen with Mr Kusanagi and Anna?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." He growled. "I'm just in a bad mood."

"Yeah, I can tell..." I muttered so he wouldn't hear me.

* * *

 **Akhinaka High School**

A few hours later, the three clans were gathered in a classroom of Ashinaka High School. Yashiro explained to us that the Green King had come in contact with him and had told him exactly what he was up to. They would attack on December 24th in the evening to get their hands on the Slates and release it's power to the world, so that everyone could obtain the power of the Color Kings. No need to say that everyone came to the same conclusion. Throwing that much power into the world would turn it into a state of complete chaos and destruction. The Silver King then revealed that the Green King had a weakness, which shocked everyone. The guy had apparently tried to fight the Gold King for the heck of it. And even though he was ridiculously powerful, he couldn't maintain his power active for a very long time. Shiro asked to be in command of this operation. After a few sceptic remarks from both clans, Mr Mikoto and Mr Munakata agreed to let him do it. After that, the Silver King exposed us his plan.

"First we'll need to keep Sukuna Gojo and Yukari Mishakuji busy. My guess is they will try to make a way for the Green King to make his way to the Slates quickly. Here's what I suggest. The blue clan will be the welcoming committee on the lower floors. Your job, Lieutenant will be to separate these two. Then once separated, we will lead both of them where we want. Yukari Mishakuji will be taken care of by us, the Silver Clan." He turned to Kuro who nodded, before continuing. "And we suggest the red clan takes care of Sukuna Gojo."

"Hell yeah!" Said Yata, standing from his seat and cracking his knuckles together. "I owe the little bastard for last time."

"Yata, sit down." Said Mr Kusanagi. "You're embarrassing yourself and the clan."

The crow growled and sat back down, crossing his arms. Shiro continued. "Then, us three, Silver, Red and Blue Kings, will have to stop Nagare Hisui and hold him off until his power runs out."

"I see. However, I have a question." Commented the Lieutenant. "What if both manage to get passed us? How do you plan on separating them?"

"We have the advantage of home security. The Gold King's tower is filled with a very complete security system." Replied Shiro with a smile, before turning to the rest of us. "Two things will be necessary to give us the advantage for this plan." He said raising two fingers. "The first is Fushimi. Your skills with high tech understanding and manipulation is flawless. You'll be in charge of managing the Tower's security manually."

Saru didn't respond but looked a little surprised at the Silver King's sudden compliment. Although, knowing him, he was probably wondering how Yashiro knew about that.

"You said two?" Urged the Blue King.

"There's a possibility that the Green King might try to shut down completely the surveillance system. His power is based on electricity after all. If that's the case, we might loose visuals on them. That's where Doctor Ome Shiranui comes in. She will be our eyes. Her sense of observation is top, she'll be a great asset. That and she's an excellent fighter."

"Where do you suggest we place her?" Asked Mr Kusanagi.

"One floor under the Slates's one. If something happens she'll be able to warn us."

"There is another asset we have yet to consider." Said the Blue King before looking at me.

"Me? But I can only see a couple seconds ahead of time. And it's only when people other than me are in danger."

"Wouldn't it be wiser to keep the girl near the Slates?" Asked Mr Munakata to the others as if he hadn't heard me.

"Are you nuts?!" Shouted Yata.

"You're not using her as a shield." Warned Mr Mikoto, saying something for the first time in the entire meeting.

"You're short sighted Suho. All of your clansmen will put themselves at risk. Doesn't that imply that she should to?"

Our King opened his eyes and frowned at Mr Munakata. Mr Kusanagi replied instead. "It's not like that Blue King. According to Shiro, the Green King is extremely fast. Taiga's visions may not be able to keep up with his speed. And if he thinks she's a threat, it would only take him a second to take her out."

"That's why she should stay with her fellow clansmen. Also, if she's in the lower floors, and anything unexpected happens she'll be able to tell." Said the Silver King, with a big smile on his face as he turned to me. "With your gift, you'll be able to anticipate Sukuna Gojo's moves and should be able to keep him contained. I'll be relying on you."

I smiled at the Silver King, relieved that he didn't even consider the idea of using me as a shield. "Count on me, Yashiro."

* * *

 **Shizume streets**

When we finished the meeting and planning, Mr Mikoto and Mr Kusanagi told us to go back home while they had some business to take care of. Soon, all the guys went their own way and only Yata, Anna and I were left. The skateboarder seemed to be lost in thought while slowly skating next to us.

"Yata, wasn't your house the other way?" I asked. He didn't respond. "Earth to Yata. Hey!" I snapped my fingers in front of his face.

He blinked a few times. "Huh? Oh, sorry. Where you saying something?"

"Yes I was." I said, annoyed. "Aren't you going home?"

"I'm not letting you go back by yourselves. It's not safe."

"Yata, we talked about that!"

"You're with Anna and she's still a target." He insisted. "You might get caught up in the whole thing."

"I thought we established I can take care of myself when it comes to Green Clansmen."

"Not if it's the pansy or the brat." He insisted. "I'm going with you, and that's that!"

I sighed and shook my head. I'd rarely seen him in such a bad mood but he was being way overprotective, even for him. But I didn't feel like starting an argument so I just stayed quiet. Besides he wasn't completely wrong. We made our way to the HOMRA bar without encountering any green clansmen. Anna said she wasn't feeling well and lied down on Mr Mikoto's couch. While she fell asleep, I decided to clean up the bar. Yata sat at the counter, leaning on it and I could feel his eyes staring at me as I was putting the bottles away. I decided to ignore him until I was finished. Then, I grabbed a can of beer and another of Sprite in the kitchen and went back around the counter. I sat next to him and gave him the beer.

"Thanks." He said.

"Why did you come here Yata? Don't lie to me, anyone can tell something's on your mind. I've never seen you in such a bad mood."

He took a sip and hesitated before answering. "I don't think you should be fighting the greens with us."

"I knew it." I said, exasperated. "Yata, I'm not a porcelain doll. I'm a red clansman, I have the same power as you. Why won't you let me be one fully? I want to fight alongside you guys."

"But your not good enough. Not yet."

"We're at war with JUNGLE. I don't have time to train, so I have to contribute with what I have. Not to show off or anything, but if I'm not as strong as you, I still am an advantage to our side. Yashiro said it himself, I can protect you guys with my clairvoyance. And I still have Ryu's aura too. So don't tell me I can't do anything."

"That's not what I said!"

"No, you're just implying that I can't take care of myself."

"No! Well, yes but ..."

He stared down and clenched teeth and fists. I placed a hand on his. "You're not the only one who's worried." He seemed surprised and looked at me. "When you fought Akihiko last time, you nearly got chopped into little pieces and died of blood loss. You weren't good enough either. His strength almost equals Yukari's. Do you think I'm okay with you facing someone I know is stronger than you? No I'm not. But we're a clan Yata. That's our strength, we fight together because it's the only chance we have. Your job isn't to protect me, it's to watch my back and mine is to watch yours. And it's what I plan to do. For you and all of the guys. So trust me."

He frowned a little and looked down again. "Yeah... It's kinda hard to see you a one of us. I-I don't mean you don't belong with us! It's just..."

"I'm not as strong as you."

"Yeah, I guess." He let out. "I... do trust you."

A big smile appeared on my face and I took my hand back. "Thanks Yata."

He turned his head away and muttered. "And for the record, it is my job to protect you."

I chuckled. "Thanks, boyfriend."

I saw him tense up and blush like crazy, which was my objective and made me laugh even more. He gave me a pouting face. "Don't make fun of me." He growled, taking another sip of his beer.

"Sorry. I couldn't resist when you're like that. You're so cute."

"Don't call a guy cute." He mumbled. "The-there's something else I wanted to ask you." He fake coughed and looked even more embarrassed than before. "I know Mr Mikoto offered to pay you in advance for you to get your own place..."

"Yeah, but I said no. I want to earn that money first. For now, I'm paying rent to Mr Kusanagi and share Anna's room. I should have enough to rent a small studio in town, but honestly with everything that's been going on I forgot about it. Why do you ask?"

"Well, huh... I was thinking... Since you know, I stay at my mom's place most of the time... if you're tired of being here and want some alone time, well, I was thinking you could... go to the apartment. Y-you said you liked the place so..."

My eyes widened. "Hold up, you mean YOUR apartment?"

"Hey, I didn't mean anything weird by it! Don't get the wrong idea! It's just if you want to..."

He stopped talking when he saw that I was practically paralyzed, with my jaw dropped and my face slowly turning crimson.

"H-hey, why are you making that face?"

"Why? My boyfriend just told me that he was giving me the key to his apartment, that's why."

He rubbed the back of his head and looked away as his face turned even redder. "So, is that a yes?"

"Well, I uh... I guess if I ever need some space or if Mr Kusanagi wants me out of his hair, it could be a good idea..." That was the most indirect way to say yes. "But are you sure you're okay with me squatting in like that whenever I want?"

He shrugged. "Sure. I told you, I hate the place. So if it can be useful to you, I guess that's that."

"Well, wow. Thanks."

He searched through his pocket and handed to me a small silver key. "That's the four-eyed monkey's old key."

"And you know, It's still your place. You can drop in whenever you want, I got no jurisdiction over that."

"... Guess, if you don't mind..."

I smiled and let myself fall on his shoulder. He tensed up but before he could say anything, I beat him to it. "Hey. No one else is here and Anna's asleep. Relax, Yata." I heard him sight and his shoulders relaxed. "Guess I'm still no good with you."

I chuckled. "I don't mind. I like you either way."

I stayed like that a couple minutes until our PDA's both beeped at the same time. I re-straightened myself and took mine out of my pocket. It was another email from the same anonymous address that had sent me the Special Invitation. I opened it. It was another old gameboy design short video showing a caricatured character of Tatara Totsuka being shot by another one resembling Yashiro.

"Those sons of bitches..." I muttered.

I looked at Yata. He clenched his PDA like he wanted to break it, before standing. I grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Where are you going?"

"Where do you think? To give those bastards a piece of my mind!"

"Yata, don't. That's exactly what they want."

"Then I'll give it to them."

"No you won't!" I snapped, so much that he stopped pulling and turned towards me. "If you get hurt now, the entire christmas mission is going to be a complete fiasco. You don't even know where to find them. I know it's hard, but we have to be patient. We'll pay them back a hundred times when we annihilate the green clan."

"Easy for you to say." He muttered, looking down, fists still clenched. He punched the wall before sitting back down, with a mixture of anger and sadness on his face.

"You already told me that Tatara was a red and was killed by the Colorless King. But you never told me what kind of guy he was." I looked at the pictures on the wall. There was one of him and Mikoto with Anna in between them. "He looked like a nice guy."

To my surprise, a small smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "He was. And idiot. He was the kind of guy that was into one thing a day and another the next. He had old man hobbies, like playing shogi for hours. Even if he had the aura, he never used it. And the guy could barely take a punch without breaking a bone."

"He wasn't a fighter."

"Not even close. But that didn't matter. He was one of us. He was the one Mr Mikoto talked to the most. That guy was a genius for that. Keeping the King talking for an hour if he wanted to."

"That's hard to imagine." I said thinking of our quiet and lazy King. "Speaking of which, did Mr Kusanagi say where they were going?"

"No, I don't think so."

"He's been going out a lot lately...That's weird for him."

"I didn't notice..." Commented Yata. "But we've been running all over the place hunting those damn greens."

"You mean _we've_ been running all over the place." I teased. "You were left on standby."

"Yeah, and that pissed me off."

The door then opened. "We couldn't deploy our full strength just yet." Said the bartender. "We have to keep our big guns hidden for the real fight. Right, Yatagarasu?"

"I guess you're right. Where's Mr Mikoto?"

"Taking care of something." The blond man, turned his attention to the couch under the window. "Taiga, could you take Anna to her room?"

"Yeah, sure." I went to pick up the sleeping girl, noting that the bartender was definitely dodging the question.

"I should probably go home, now. See ya later Mr Kusanagi. Bye Taiga." He started walking towards the door.

"Yata!" I called out, and he turned around. "You are going home, right?"

He hesitated a bit but then replied. "Yeah." And with that, he left.

* * *

 **Mihashira Tower, December 24** **th**

Everyone was in place, just as Yashiro had instructed. The blue clan, lead by Lieutenany Seiri Awashima were on the gathered in the lower floors. We were stationed a couple floors higher, under the command of Mr Kusanagi. A couple floors higher, the Silver King and his two clansmen were waiting. One floor above them, Ome was alone, her eyes wide open, keeping watch on the integrity of the tower with her foresight. She had taken aura from Kuro, Saru and Yata to charge up to the max and had reached the top of her visual capacity. If anything moved, she would know. I'd seen her for the first time wearing something else than her white coat. She had picked black sportswear for the mission. And finally, on the final floor, in the room where the Dresden Slates were being contained, the Red and Blue Kings were waiting. We were all using Anna's marbles to communicate. That way, even if the Green King fried the integrity of electrical devices in the building, he wouldn't be able to cut off our communications. Saru was in a truck outside the building, where he could manually manipulate the security system. Anna was waiting with him.

While the guys were chatting with each other, I was sitting on the floor focusing on my breathing. I was more than a little nervous but I was confident. Yashiro was a master strategist and he had probably anticipated every move the Green Clan could pull on us. I took a deep breath and then stood up and asked Mr Kusanagi if I could borrow the marble.

"Ome, anything moving?"

" _No. Are you sensing something?"_

"Gut feeling."

" _Well, the whole thing should go down pretty quickly. After that, we'll go eat cake and celebrate. We're partying all night long at the Society. If you feel like dropping by after, you're welcome."_

"Thanks." At least someone was trying to lighten the mood.

" _Why are you having a private conversation that everyone can hear?"_ Asked Saru's voice, annoyed.

" _Butt out, Fushimi."_ Said Ome.

I heard him growl on the other side and laughed. But then …

" _Incoming!"_ Suddenly warned Ome. _"I have both J-Ranks in sight. Get ready Lieutenant."_

Soon after a series of explosions and crashing metal were heard. Saru was activating the defenses of the tower to slow them down, but that seemed to do very little. Sukuna was being more or less contained by the blue clan. They managed to keep him occupied. But Yukari easily made it passed the traps. Ome kept her eyes on both of them. We waited without anything coming to us.

"Hey, monkey!" Shouted Yata. "Weren't you suppose to lead the brat towards us?"

" _The Lieutenant's group is keeping him contained fine. I'll ring when we need your useless comments!"_

"Is it just me or is everything too easy?"

"Don't scream victory yet Taiga." Said Mr Kusanagi. "Yukari Mishakuji is making his way to the upper floors smoothly. And the King has yet to show up. Stay on your toes."

"Right."

" _Speak of the devil."_ Said Ome's voice. _"Nagare Hisui has entered the building. And he's not alone. Wait, what the..."_

" _Ome? What's wrong?"_ Asked Shiro.

" _Shiro, Munakata, Suho. Get ready, he's already activating his aura!"_

"Well, isn't someone getting ahead of themselves." Commented Mr Kusanagi. "That's unusual. He comes off as being a careful player."

Ome didn't stop there. _"Silver clan, stay alert! Yukari's heading towards you!"_

" _Awashima to Shiranui. Sukuna Gojo has vanished. He escaped through a hole in the wall leading outside."_

" _What?"_ Exclaimed the Doctor.

" _Shiro to Awashima. Regroup with the red clan on their floor. Wait there for further instructions."_ Ordered the Red King.

" _Roger."_

It was weird hearing all the action going on while being completely out of it. But that only increased the level of agitation of the place. So many things weren't going as plan, but everyone was calm and following Yashiro's directions perfectly.

" _Blue clan, be careful! Something's wrong!"_ Suddenly said Ome. _"I can't see you anymore. Do you read me Lieutenant?"_

" _Positive. Did you exhaust your power?"_

" _Not even close. My aura's at top percent and I can go on for another twelve hours. Something is blocking my view. Some sort of smoke screen. No way... no it can't be. Fushimi! Did the cameras pick up clear images of the King and the man approaching the building?"_

" _Yeah, why?"_

" _Describe him to me. Quickly!"_

" _Mid-forties, priest outfit, brown wavy hair..."_

" _Shiro, change of plans. I'm useless right now. The guy with the Green King is a powerful strain named Seigo Ootori. As long as he spreads his smoke screen, I won't be able to keep track of anyone. They might even get lost even if they're near each other."_

" _How come you never mentioned you were acquainted with a green clansman?"_ Asked the Blue King.

" _Now's not the time for paranoia, Munakata! I'll explain later. I have to head down there and take him out. I'll warn you if I get a lock on Nagare Hisui again!"_

"Be careful Ome." I said.

" _Shiro to everyone. Yukari Mishakuji has also escaped. It's likely that both J-Ranks have left. That brings us to the third phase. Blue King, Red King. Be ready, our guest probably won't be long. Fushimi, begin emergency lockdown."_

Soon, Lieutenant Awashima showed up with her men and joined our group. Saruhiko did as he he was told, but a few instants after the activation of the lockdown, sounds of explosions were heard from the lower floors and gradually got louder. The room started shaking.

"Is that him?" Asked the Lieutenant.

"Looks like it. Everyone get ready. We have to try to stall him down, even if it's just a little bit. Don't take any direct hits." Ordered Mr Kusanagi. "No impulsive actions. Got it?"

"YEAH." All of us replied together except for Yata who looked lost in thought.

"Did you hear me Yata?" Asked the bartender.

"Yeah, I hear you Mr Kusanagi. I was just thinking about the Blue King. Putting himself behind Shiro and Mr Mikoto as a last line of defense."

"That was the plan from the beginning Yata. We talked about it at the meeting."

"I know it's the plan. But that's just... cowardly. I don't see why anyone would go working for a guy like that."

I frowned and approached him to slap him behind the head. "Ow! Why d'you do that for?"

"Rude much?" I replied. "Watch your mouth, Yata."

"Why? What did I..." I pointed towards the blue clansmen and the Lieutenant that were making horrible faces while staring at the ground. "Hold up! I didn't mean you..."

Mr Kusanagi punched him on the head one more time and I shook my head. But he didn't have the time to reflect on what he said. The explosions were getting louder and closer. Everyone got on guard. SCEPTER 4 with their swords out and us, with our auras summoned. But the second the door was busted, a strong energy blew us all away. I was prepared to hit the ground or even the wall but I landed in someone's arms. Cold arms. Like those of a corpse. When I opened my eyes and looked up, I saw a white haired young man with a blue and a green eye. He was surrounded by green energy, moving around like lightening bolts. I froze. It was the Green King. A small smile appeared on his face and he put me down, but before I could even think of summoning my aura, he dashed away in a green flash, busting through another metal gate and headed towards the Slates. I turned to everyone else. They were a bit shaken but nothing more.

"Curse him!" Said the Lieutenant. "He's even stronger than I tought. We didn't have enough time to react."

"Everyone get up!" Ordered Mr Kusanagi. "We have to join the kings and provide as much help as we can. Even if it's just acting as decoys." He took out the marble. "Shiro! He's on his way!"

Suddenly my head started hurting and I shut my eyes closed. Another image presented itself to me. The outer wall blowing up. I turned to the blues. "Lieutenant! Everyone! GET AWAY FROM THE WALL!"

Thank heaven, they all had the reflex to immediately jump away as the wall exploded and made dust fly everywhere. When it started dissipating, three... no four figures stepped in from the outside.

"That was completely over the top." Said a masculine voice I recognized immediately.

"You know I like to be dramatic."

"We have one Yukari and trust me the world doesn't need a second one." Commented a woman's voice this time.

My eyes widened. "No." The dust fell, revealing the four purple clansman. ARCHITECT's full force.

The gun holder charged his weapon and smirked at me. "What's up Kitten? Long time no see."

* * *

 **And cliffhanger again! Sorry guys! I hope you liked it and again sorry for the delay. Now if the entire ARCHITECT force is here what could it mean I wonder? No need to say that next chapter will feature awesome fights! Keep reading!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**


	25. Chapter 24 : Defeat and Repeat

**Hey guys! I made sure this chapter was thrilling and extra long for you! I really hope you will like it! Let's see how our friends now face off the entire force of ARCHITECT!**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **External POV : Ome**

Fushimi blocked the elevators so no one could use them. The doctor strain broke a window and dug her claws into the building to slide down and get there faster. She broke glass again and got back inside, a few floors under where the Red's were. She tried _seeing_ again, but her foresight was now completely useless. Which meant she couldn't be that far from the old man anymore. Ome raced down the dark hallways, encountering a busted door. She cursed under her breath knowing that it was the doing of the Green King, Nagare Hisui. It was too late for her to turn back. The only thing she could do now was stop Seigo Ootori from going any further. She manipulated the aura inside herself to enhance her sense of hearing and closed her eyes. His footsteps were resonating in a nearby hall and were getting closer. She opened her eyes and waited. As she waited, old memories came to haunt her. This man, this wounded man she'd met eight years ago. How did he end up here? And why was he helping the Green King? He suddenly appeared, just like Fushimi said, in a priest outfit and holding a huge gun. She stood in the middle of the hallway and faced him.

"Stop right there Seigo Ootori. I won't let you go any further." She didn't know if he could see her in the dark, but she would've recognized his tall figure and long hair anywhere. The old man had aged but his eyes still looked the same. He stopped when he heard her.

"I haven't heard this name in a while. It's been a long time Ome. You've grown into a fine young woman."

"And you've fallen very low, Ootori-sensei. Why are you with the Green Clan?"

"Fallen? I think not, dear child. I'm but a humble father that wants his child to have fun."

"By child, do you refer to the Green King?" She said. "He is childish. And his games hurt people. I didn't think you were the kind of person that would allow that. Since when are you alright with innocent people getting hurt by selfish actions?"

"Who are the innocent people Ome? You and the clansmen? No, the innocent are all of these people outside that are at the mercy of Kings and strains. They deserve a chance to protect themselves and to live peacefully without fearing the power of Kings."

"So that's why you want to release the power of the Slates? So that everyone can become a King? Have you even thought of the disaster that would cause? Imagine the effects of thousandth of millions of downfalls. That could destroy the world!"

"It's better to die than to live in fear of something you know you don't have the strength to fight."

"You're insane." She stated, looking into his eyes. There was a fierce determination burning in them. "I don't know what happened to you, but you're not the man you were, Seigo Ootori."

"Indeed. I'm no longer Seigo Ootori. My name is Tenkei Iwafune. And I serve Nagare Hisui. Now if you'll excuse me, I really should join him."

Ome summoned her aura and took out her claws. Even if they were small and mostly used to absorb aura, they were unbreakable and deadly if she hit the right spot. "Do you really think I'll let you pass so easily?"

He just smiled instead of replying and fog suddenly appeared again. He quickly disappeared from her sight. She ran towards where he was standing a second ago, but he'd vanished. The doctor strain enhanced her hearing since her sight was almost useless. She heard it just in time. The sound of his gun being charged just before firing. She dodged the bullet just in time and it went to make the pillar next to her explode.

"Two can play at this game, Iwafune." She muttered.

She concentrated her aura on her entire body and in only a couple seconds her body started to be unnoticeable to the sense of sight. If she couldn't find him, he could find her either. But they couldn't endlessly wander around in the fog looking for each other. Ome decided to walk straight until she reached a wall. Once she reached one, she turned her back to it and shouted.

"You must really have turned senile to follow a child into his pathetic and selfish games!"

As the girl had predicted, she heard the sound of the gun shot and jumped in time just to avoid it.

"Isn't that why you created your institute?" Replied the older strain's voice from somewhere in the smoke screen. "So that you could protect people from Strains? We have the same purpose Ome."

"No we don't. I don't plan on turning the world into a giant atomic bomb by giving everyone supernatural powers they don't understand or can control. Kings are not chosen randomly. You of all people should no that!"

Another bullet crashed into the wall, right next to her. "This power also destroys it's vassal! You want the entire world to go out like a big light? You're working for a madman who can't even anticipate the disaster ahead, and you're no better than him if you can't either!"

This time she climbed the wall above the smoke screen, and watched intently as the next shot got fired in the wall as well. But this time, she saw where it came from. 'Got you!' She put all her strength in her legs and kicked herself off the wall and above the smoke as swiftly and elegantly as a cat. She closed her eyes as well, only trusting her ears and instincts, and when she slammed into something, heard a grunt and knocked it down, she knew she'd been right. Ome pressed her knee on the man's torso, extended her free leg to block the wrist holding his gun to the ground and grabbed him around the neck with a clawed hand. With her free hand, she dug her claws into his shoulder more and blocked his aura flow with her own. That would've never worked if her aura hadn't been at top percent. The fog slowly dissipated. She reopened her eyes to see the old man stuck under her. She let herself be visible again.

"You loose, green clansman." She declared.

He sighed and simply grinned back. "My, my. You certainly have grown since the last time I saw you. Looks like it's my loss."

"You seem awfully calm for someone who just lost a major fight." Said Ome raising an eyebrow, suspicious of what he might be cooking up. "Your two J-rank have left the battlefield. And your King won't stand a chance against the Red, Blue and Silver Kings together."

"Of course I'm calm. I've completed my objective. My work here is complete."

"What?"

"I managed to get you away from your watchtower. And just so you know, Nagare should be the least of your worries right now."

The girl suddenly felt a wave of panic pinch her heart. She looked up to the ceiling and tried to use her foresight. She saw floor by floor until she reached the Slates room. Nagare Hisui was laying on the ground. He'd used up all of his power already. But Munakata and Suho's eyes were turned towards the big hole in the wall. A tall, slender looking man wearing black pants, black shoes, a white shirt and a dark grey coat on his shoulder was standing on the edge. He looked happy and dangerous at the same time. This man was Ryu Karasuno, the Purple King. What in the world was he doing there?

Before she could even think of acting, Ome felt a small sting in her hand. She reflexively took it back but it was too late. The small acupuncture needle had penetrated the skin and reached the blood vessels. Her head started feeling heavy and spinning. She didn't even have time to reach for it, Ome fell on her side, her muscles quickly abandoning her one by one. She was paralyzed but still conscious. The older strain stood back up and picked up his gun, before getting the dust off his clothes.

"You've really grown, kiddo. But you're still way too early to pick a fight with me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really have to join Nagare. And don't worry, you should be able to move in about thirty minutes or so. Everything will be over by then."

"Why the... sudden act... of mercy?" Managed to let out the doctor with a chocked voice.

He smiled again. "Think of it as my way to say thank you for last time."

"Damn you..." Cursed Ome under her breath, as Iwafune was walking away.

* * *

 **Taiga's POV**

"What's up Kitten? Long time no see."

Keiji had the same cocky smile showing his overconfidence. Akihiko was wearing his serious face as usual, and holding his short swords in each hand. As for Lana, she had ditched her fancy clothes and was now wearing slim dark pants with boots and a tank top matching it, as well as black gloves. Her face reflected determination and frustration as well. At her feet, the huge Rottweiler was waiting for the first order his owner would give him. The tattoo on my back started burning me.

"No, no, no, no! If you're here then..."

"The boss is up there having a little chat with your knew King. And I'm guessing he's gonna enjoy it." Replied the gun wielder. "Now that the Green King's out of juice, it's our turn to have a little fun. How about you show me how much you've learned in six months little cat?"

"Stop wasting time, Keiji!" Said Lana. "Let's just get this over with."

"Someone had lion for breakfast. Well then, milady. Won't you open the ball?"

Lana threw him a murderous glare before turning to us. "Tux." She said.

The big dog took a step forward and suddenly started growing to reach the size of a big lion. Black scales started appearing on it's head and back. A real armor. I'd seen the dog do this many times, but I'd never actually seen it in action. Lana waited for him to be fully changed before ordering. "Find Miyabi Ameno!" She ordered. "And bring her to me."

Before I could even wonder who in the world Miyabi Ameno was, the dog ran towards us at full speed, like his armor made him lighter. Yata let the aura surround him and tried to get in his way, but I tackled him to the ground to keep him from taking a direct hit. The dog jumped over the entire group with ease and raced down the hall to go to the next floor.

"Don't do that!" I told the crow. "He's strong enough to go through a two meter thick wall like it's water! What do you think he could do to your bones?"

He didn't waste time answering and we both stood back up. Keiji was still smirking like an idiot. "You two look so cute together. The boss is gonna love that." He turned to his fellow clansmen. "So which one do you want Aki?"

"I'll take the Reds. We have unfinished business."

"Then that makes the little cat mine, right? Sweet. That means you get the Blues, Lana. Try to make the boss proud."

The woman threw him a death glare. "If you hurt her, I will tear you apart." She threatened.

"Scary. Hear that, kitty-cat? You should consider coming back to us. Everyone in ARCHITECT loves you so much."

"Everyone, except you." I snapped back. 'Damn it. My voice is shaking too.'

His cocky smile turned to a sadistic smirk."Touché."

I summoned the purple aura all around my body. Even though I hated using it, I hadn't wasted time in these past months. Just like my combat practice, I'd worked on it everyday, learning to expand and widen the range of the purple fog that Ryu was still providing me with. Looks like now was as good a time as ever to see if my work paid off. Keiji pointed his gun towards us and fired six bullets in a row. I hit the floor that rose up and made a wall in front of us, stopping the bullets. I expanded the aura even more and made long spikes come out of my wall and heading directly for the three clansman. Akihiko and Keiji dodged every spike but at least it made them back off... except for Lana. She didn't budge a muscle as the spikes were heading directly towards her.

'Do something! Anything!' I internally begged. But I knew she wasn't going to. So I reflexively stopped the spikes a foot in before they could touch her. She looked at me straight in my eyes, with a mixture of frustration and anger in her stare.

"Don't take pity on your enemies, Yoru."

Purple fog suddenly surrounded her entire body. The aura then took the shape of multiple thick whips … no, more like tentacles. A total of four. My eyes widened in fear and astonishment. So that was why Ryu wanted her back...

"You... can make things out of nothing but the aura?"

She didn't answer and swung her arm in the air. Two of the tentacles crashed into my wall and destroyed it. The debris flew everywhere forcing some of us to get back. One hit me in the shoulder. Enough to make me bleed but not to cause anything serious. I was a bit too under the shock to even notice. She ran towards the Blue clan and with another movement of the arm, sent half of them flying against the wall. How could Lana have mastered a skill that required an unbelievable amount of concentration and aura? I shook my head. I had to focus on my visions to anticipate anymore dangerous moves. Akihiko threw himself on my fellow clansman, sending them flying like specks of dust.

"Taiga! Watch out!" Shouted Mr Kusanagi, who had just avoided Akihiko's slice.

I looked up. Keiji was standing on the edge of a window. "Already forgot about me, Kitten? How about a dance to celebrate our reunion?"

He jumped towards me. I jumped back again to avoid getting stepped on and brought my hand to my mouth while summoning the red aura. I inhaled deeply and breathed fire in his direction. He dodged it with a swift and elegant spin.

"Ooh, hot! Not bad kitten!" He flipped his gun in his hand before putting it back in it's holster. "How about a close up now?"

He ran towards me and I barely had time to raise my arm to block his punch (which nearly broke my forearm). He was fast. Much faster than the guys. The second I anticipated his movements, I had to dodge. There was no way I could find an opening. I avoided another kick with a back flip and tried to swing my leg in his ankle. But Keiji simply jumped and avoided me before sending his foot flying on the side of my head. I tumbled but didn't fall although my head was spinning like hell.

"You've improved a lot. I'm impressed Kitten. You can even dodge me now. But that's not going to do you any good if you're not going to attack."

This time he was too fast for me and grabbed me around the throat, cutting off my breath. He then tripped me, making me fall flat on my back without releasing my throat. I grabbed his arm to get him off me and of course, that didn't work. His grip was iron. I could still breath but barely.

"I take back what I said. Nothing's changed much. You still look pathetic down there, Kitten. And I still enjoy that slowly choking face of yours, completely at my mercy."

I looked to the side. The only ones still standing were Lieutenant Awashima and Mr Kusanagi fighting Lana. Or more like trying to find an opening as they dodged the purple tentacles. And Yata was the only other clansman still standing, fighting Akihiko as best he could. But I could tell, the swordsman still had the upper hand.

"Let go... off... me!" I ordered, summoning the red aura. His gloves started to smoke on his arm, but he didn't budge. "If you don't, I'll scorch your arm." I warned.

He raised an eyebrow, his smirk never disappearing. "Really ?" He leaned in closer until his forehead was practically touching mine. The aura was still slowly eating at his glove. Anyone else would be screaming their lungs out by now. He was acting like he wasn't feeling a thing. But I still caught a glimpse of sweat on his forehead. "Prove it." He dared, which startled me. "Prove you have that cruel vibe in you. Burn me until my flesh melts off my bones. Come on."

He was insane. The image of molten flesh disgusted me and I turned off the aura and loosened my grip on his arm. He straightened up and laughed hysterically. "I knew you couldn't do it." He took his gun out again with his free hand and pulled back the charger with his teeth. "And that's the big difference between you and me Kitten."

He pressed the gun on my left thigh and shot. The pain struck like nothing I've ever felt and I let out an intense scream. I felt my eyes water in pain. And that was all that was needed for Akihiko to get an opening. Yata, turned around, and the purple clansman didn't even give him time to scream and sliced his back open with his short sword. The red clansman grunted and fell on the ground, shaking in pain.

"You son of a bitch..." He let out. Akihiko ignored his comment and brutally stepped on his back.

"YA-ta..." My shout was interrupted halfway when Keiji tightened his grip on my throat.

"Eyes up here, Kiteen. We're not done talking."

But then a purple tentacle encircled his neck and he was brutally pulled off me and slammed into the window's glass, cracking it in the process. Mr Kusanagi and the lieutenant were on the ground unconscious, and Lana was now throwing a death glare at the gun holder.

"I warned you..." She growled.

"What's the matter Lana?" Replied Keiji, smiling and completely ignoring his situation. "I didn't do anything wrong."

Lana clenched her teeth and I saw that she made a move to tighten the aura around his neck but then, Akihiko extended his arm to place his blade under her throat.

"Let him go, Lana." He warned as calm as ever. "We've completed our objective. Fighting amongst ourselves is useless. I won't say it again."

The woman growled and the tentacle around Keiji's neck disappeared. He rubbed his throat and picked up his gun. "That was close. Thanks bro."

Akihiko brought his two blades together and summoned the purple aura. The two weapons fused and formed a normal looking katana. The older twin kicked Yata so he would end up on his back and raised his blade in the air.

"No mistakes this time." He said.

But as he was about to pierced his chest, Yata grabbed the blade with his barehand and stopped it right before it could touch his chest. His hand was bleeding but he ignored the pain. He gave Akihiko the most hateful look I'd ever seen. "You're right. No mistakes this time!"

His entire body caught fire and the weapon in his hand started melting. "You think I've just been sitting my ass doin' nothing for the past six months? Think again bastard!"

Before the sword wielder could pull back, Yata threw his legs in the air, breakdance style, balancing himself on his arms and then, swung his foot in Akihiko stomach, boosted by the red aura. The purple clansman was thrown into the wall. But he didn't fall down. I looked around for anything Yata could use as a weapon, and found some sort of iron bar. I touched it with the purple aura, and made some sort of retractable staff out of it.

"Yata!" I shouted throwing it to him. He easily caught it.

Keiji fired another five bullets, but the crow deflected them by spinning the staff in his hand. I forced myself to stand up and ignore the pain in my leg. Lucky the bullet had gone straight through and there was no major bleeding. 'Come on, one more time.' I encouraged myself. I inhaled my aura again, and directed my flame towards Lana and Keiji. The gun wielder jumped back far away and the woman made a shield around herself, but she jumped back again because of the heat. Yata joined my side.

"Nice one." He said, placing himself in front of me.

The three members of ARCHITECT weren't anywhere near incapacitated and barely injured. Lana made her tentacles appear again. Keiji charged his gun again and Akihiko finished reforming his short katanas. Both Yata and I were wounded.

"Yoru, you can't win against us." Tried Lana one more time. "Just come back with us. I won't hurt him, I promise."

I frowned. "Even if I can take your word for it, there's no guarantee for these two. Or Ryu." I summoned my red aura. "This is my color."

"Looks like there's no reasoning with the red clan, guys." Said Keiji. "So where do you want the next bullet kitten?"

"Stop it Keiji." Ordered Akihiko.

"I'm just kidding, bro. I already might die for the first one and I'd like to live."

Lana closed her eyes for a second. "I'm sorry, Yoru."

The tentacles dashed towards us but a slash of blue aura cut them off, keeping them from touching us. The lieutenant was back on her feet. "Don't scream victory yet, ARCHITECT!"

Mr Kusanagi grunted, before grinning and stood up as well. "Well said Seiri." The two number two of HOMRA and SCEPTER 4, placed themselves in front of us, sword and lighter out.

"You two!" Said the Lieutenant addressing us, but without ever taking her eyes off the purple clansmen. "Go to the Slates room and inform our kings of what has happened here! Then assist them in however way you can! We're counting on you!"

"But Lieutenant..." I begun.

"Don't worry Taiga. There's strong but we're not helpless either." Said the bartender lighting a cigaret. He picked up Yata's skateboard from the floor and tossed it at the crow.

"Mr Kusanagi..." I really didn't like the idea.

"Yata! Go!" Ordered Mr Kusanagi.

The clansman hopped on his skateboard, grabbed me around the waist and with the power of the red aura kicked the ground. We raced through the hallway, leaving our fellow clansmen behind.

* * *

 **External POV**

"Listen well, Izumo Kusanagi." Said SCEPTER 4's lieutenant. "Our objective is to protect our wounded and keep them busy here. Do not attempt any rash moves."

"Whatever you say, Lieutenant." Replied the bartender with a smile. "Oh, and Seiri? If this goes well, what do you say we go on a date?"

"Hmpf! Do your job perfectly and I will consider it."

"Now I'm motivated." Muttered Izumo, before turning on his lighter. "Let's get to it!"

* * *

 **Taiga's POV**

I didn't think it was possible to go this fast with a skateboard, but the aura did wonders. "Do you think they'll be alright?" I asked the crow.

He grinned back. "'Course they will! They're both number twos! Leave it to them!"

I wondered if he really believed that or was trying to convince himself in the process. But I shook the doubts out of my head. I needed to focus on the task they'd given us, and for that I had no choice but to trust them. Ryu was in that room we were heading to. At least Mr Mikoto, Mr Munakata and Yashiro were there too. I hoped. Now that I thought about it, where did Tux went? And who was Miyabi Ameno?

"What the hell?"

Yata's voice brought me back to reality. I looked up as he slowed down. The end of the hallway, where the door was suppose to be was filled with white smoke. "The strain Ome talked about must be here..."

"We have to get in that room." Said Yata, he tightened his grip on me. "Don't let go."

Yata kicked the ground and we moved forward into the smoke. Aside from the walls we could still discern a bit, everything else was impossible to see. I was pretty sure we'd entered the Slate room but we couldn't hear anything either. Was no one else here? That's when I heard a gun shot. Both of us were sent flying in different direction. I landed heavily on the ground, but quickly stood up, cursing the pain in my leg.

"Yata! Are you alright? Yata!"

No one answered. I couldn't see anything. How was I suppose to navigate in this fog? "Yata? Mr Mikoto? Mr Munakata? Yashiro?" I called out one by one, but no one answered. Suddenly the ground under me started shaking, so much that I fell on my knees. It was like... it was breaking. Being ripped off the ground. Then I heard an explosion above my head and giant debris from the ceiling fell to the ground.

"What in the world..."

The ground started shaking even more and it suddenly felt like it was being lifted into the air. Moving wasn't an option because I couldn't see clearly. But then the smoke started dissipating. I also felt more wind. Then I could make out a shadow next to me. A very tall and slim one. Then, when the smoke was completely vanished, I realized that I was standing two meters away from the Purple King. I froze before looking down. What I was standing on was nothing more than the Slates. I looked up again. There was a helicopter carrying them, and the wires to attach it to the vehicle were wires made out of purple aura. Ryu was looking down from the Slates, at the room with a busted ceiling. The smoke was still thick in there, but I discerned sources of blue and red aura. Our Kings. On the Slates with us, was also a man in a priest outfit carrying the unconscious body of the Green King. Ryu didn't seem to have noticed me and I didn't dare move to warn him of my presence. He brought a PDA to his ear.

"Lana, hurry up and get up here. We're leaving." He ordered. The wind suddenly blew strongly and I let out a sound of surprise. The purple King and the man in the priest outfit turned to me with surprised looks. I froze when he looked at me.

"Yoru?"

I stood up and started backing up quickly. "WATCH OUT!"

I didn't notice the end of the Slates and stepped into the air. I almost fell but he grabbed my arm before I could fall to my death. Which I think I would've preferred to being this close to him. He pulled me closer, never letting go of my arm. He smiled and hugged me tightly.

"I've missed you."

Before I could react, something stung me in the neck, and darkness captured my consciousness.

* * *

 **External POV**

The purple King picked up the unconscious girl, bridal style before turning to the Strain. "Was that really necessary, Mr Iwa? You ruined my reunion with my Yoru."

"I thought it would save you some trouble, Purple King. These needles are really quite useful." Replied the man in the priest outfit before looking down at the Tower again. "Oh?, It seems that your clansmen have finally decided to join us."

Indeed, a platform made with purple aura was floating towards the helicopter and the Slates hanging from it. The three ARCHITECT members seemed bruised but nothing serious.

"Who knew those two still had that much power?" Said Keiji, stepping on the Slates. "Hey boss. Oh, you've got her."

Lana walked over to her King and looked at the unconscious girl. "Is she alright?"

"Don't worry Lana." Replied the King with a smile. "She's only asleep. My poor Yoru. It must have been quite a shock."

" _Are we leaving now, Purple King?"_ Asked Yukari via radio.

"Soon." He set the girl on the ground and with the scarf around his neck, bandaged her bleeding leg. She flinched in pain. "Did you shoot her Keiji?"

"Yeah, sorry about that boss..."

His older brother hit him behind the head. The King looked at the twins with a focused yet somehow dangerous look. "I'll deal with you later."

He picked up the girl again and turned to Lana. "The silver clan has captured Tux. Trade her for him and then join us at base."

Lana made a surprised face. She knew how much Yoru meant to Ryu and how desperate he was to get her back. So why was he doing this? As he passed Yoru to Lana, the french woman questioned.

"But, Master Ryu, she..."

He smiled sweetly at her. "Now is not the right time. Not yet." He stroke Taiga's cheek gently, before leaning forward and planting a kiss on her forehead. "Soon, my Yoru. I promise." He whispered to the sleeping girl, as his only female clansman stared at him, confused.

* * *

 **Ome's floor, external POV**

The poison was wearing off, just like Ootori...no, Iwafune had said. The doctor strain slowly moved, putting her weight on her arms. Then she tried standing, which she very slowly managed to. Her head was still spinning, but she forbade herself from passing out again by making her aura circulate in her body to give her more strength. She still leaned against the walls to help herself walk. Suddenly, a voice came out of her pocket.

" _Shiro to Ome. Do you read me?"_

She took Anna's marble out of her pocket. "I read you."

"They got the Slates and it seems SCEPTER 4's radars can't follow it. Can you try with your foresight?"

"On it. Which direction were they heading?"

" _East."_ Replied the Blue King's voice instead of Shiro.

The doctor Strain ran until she found an window on the eastern side. She focused all her aura on her eyes and pushed her foresight as far as she could. "I may not be able to see the helicopter with Iwafune's power, but I can at lest track where the smoke screen itself." She muttered to herself.

She finally spotted the abnormal smoke screen moving. "Got you."

That's when she felt the blade pierce her body from behind.

* * *

 **Foot of the Mihashira Tower, SCEPTER 4 vehicles, external POV**

"Make sure the wounded are all taken care of. Get those monitors working again, we need DATA." Ordered Lieutenant Awashima to the blue clansmen on the ground.

Fushimi looked around. The reds that were still operational helped evacuate the wounded. In a cage inside one of the trucks, the strain dog that had attacked the silver clan was growling, very unhappy to be restrained by an aura absorbing cage. That monster had been enough to keep the silver clansman plus the Silver King occupied while the Purple King was kicking the red and blue king's butts. The mission had been a total fiasco. All because they didn't anticipate the fact that the Purple King was going to show up. Ome was the only one who'd brought up the subject of their possible alliance. He'd questioned it but hadn't said anything. He sighed again, knowing that he had no choice but to proceed to plan B. He looked up to the sky, it'd started snowing lightly. He looked around again, as if searching for someone. But no one in particular caught his interest. That's until he caught the shape of someone walking from the corner of the building towards them. Domyoji who was there unsheathed his sword.

"It's Lana Blanchet!"

A few more clansmen got their hands on their swords, ready to attack. "Wait." Ordered Fushimi.

When Lana completely stepped into the light completely, everyone saw that in her arms she was carrying the unconscious red female clansmen. The woman looked at him with a serious, yet sad face.

"I'll trade her for Tux." She said.

"Shouldn't you be handing her over to your King?"

"I am following my King's orders."

What the hell was she talking about? Ryu Karasuno had his hands on her and suddenly gives her back? What was the bastard up to? Saruhiko put away the throwing knives he had taken out and walked over to the vehicle with the dog's cage. He opened the lock and let the animal out. The big Rottweiler growled at the blue clansmen, but when his master whistled for him, he immediately ran to join her. She ordered him to sit and stay still before walking towards Fushimi, who did the same. Fushimi picked up the passed out girl and gave a death glare to Lana who immediately jumped back. She walked backwards a couple steps.

"Take care of her." She told him. "She was shot in the left leg and her shoulder is wounded as well."

All she got for an answer was a click of the tongue. The woman then turned around and started running away, followed by the strain dog. She quickly disappeared in the night.

"Mr Fushimi, shouldn't we follow her?" Asked Domyoji.

"Don't be stupid. She managed to take down fifteen of us all by herself. That woman's a monster. Not to mention the dog. Take care of the rest here, I have to go find the Captain."

"Yes, sir."

Fushimi took the girl inside a truck and laid her on the bench inside. She let out a heavy breaths and had an expression of pain on her face. The blue clansman clenched his teeth. It looked like Ryu Karasuno wasn't done playing with her mind. He saw the scarf tied around her leg. For some reason it disgusted him. He observed her once more. Knocked out, vulnerable... She was probably frozen on the spot when she saw him again. "Tch. Nothing's changed." He knew it was best if he got her to a medic now, but he also knew a certain someone was going to make a huge fuss for nothing if he didn't see her.

He made his way to the west side of the building where he knew the uninjured red clansmen were gathering. As he approached the small group, he heard Misaki's annoying voice.

"What do you mean, she's not there?" He shouted to Bando.

"Sorry man, but there was no one left on the Slates's Chamber, other than Mr Mikoto and the Blue King."

"But she has to be there! There's no way... There's no way that bastard took her again!"

"Calm down, Yata. We don't know that."

"But Mr Kusanagi!"

That was about all the shouting the blue clansman could take. "Do you ever shut up Misaki?" He asked as he got close enough.

"What d'you say Monkey? … TAIGA!"

All the present clansman approached and Mr Kusanagi took her off Fushimi's arms. "She's fine. She just got shot in the leg and knocked out." The bartender looked at Fushimi. "Where did you find her?"

"Crazy purple clan chick brought her back and traded her for the strain dog." He explained in a single sentence.

Shohei frowned. "Meaning the Purple King got his hands on her at some point."

Yata clenched his fists and teeth. "Damn it."

Fushimi sighed again. "We put up with this joke of an alliance and agree to play buddy buddy under the wise guidance of the Silver King and this is where it leads us. Talk about bullshit."

All the red clansmen turned to him, surprised and frowned. "Quit talking shit, will ya!" Said Yata. "Everyone did their best."

"And our best efforts led to this fiasco? Pathetic, really."

"You're one to talk when all you did was play with a keyboard!" Retorted Yata. "Besides none of this would've happened if your King wasn't so pig headed and listened to Ome! He's the one who fought the Purple King! If he'd beaten him, we would've won!"

"You're absolutely right."

That reply made Yata froze for a second. Fushimi started walking away. "What a looser."

"Hey! That's your King you're talking about. At least try to defend him."

Fushimi stopped in his track. This was a good time to begin. After all, he'd made his decision already. He turned around and smirked at his former best friend. "Things are about to get interesting from now on. Try to keep up if you can."

And with that he walked away, leaving the red clansmen dumbfounded.

"Saruhiko?" Questioned Yata, to no one in particular. He was about to call out to him but the bartender stopped him.

"Let him be Yata. He's as sour as we are about this defeat. Besides, we have more important things to take care of." He said looking at the girl in his arms. "Let's find a medic to take care of her."

"Right."

The uninjured HOMRA members stayed near the ambulance where Taiga was getting treated and waited. Yata hadn't taken his eyes off the doors and Mr Kusanagi was lighting his fourth cigaret. They looked up when a familiar slow stride was heard. The Red King approached. For once he didn't have a cigaret in his mouth. He looked like he was about to break something.

"Hey, Mikoto." Saluted Mr Kusanagi, offering him his pack. "I take it it didn't go too well up there."

The King took one and only growled instead of explaining himself. He didn't need to. Everyone could tell that he didn't even get to fight the Purple King. He had confronted the strain. He didn't have any trouble melting his bullets and avoiding his shots, but he couldn't allow himself to scorch the place when he didn't know where Munakata was. And that seriously pissed him off.

"How is she?" He asked.

"Fine, just knocked out. One of the twins shot her in the leg."

They all went quiet is until they saw Anna ran towards them at full speed. The little girl looked completely panicked. "Mikoto! Izumo!" She called out.

She crashed into her King's leg and grabbed on to his coat as she tried to catch her breath. Mikoto placed a hand on her head. "What's wrong?" He asked calmly.

"It's … Ome."

"Easy Anna." Said Mr Kusanagi, crouching next to her. "Catch your breath first."

They waited a minute for the young strain to calm down. "Ome was attacked. Someone stabbed her in the back. She's not waking up."

"What?"

"Her color is fading." A small sob escaped the little girl's mouth. "It might disappear."

"She's dying?!" Asked Kosuke.

Anna nodded. That's when they heard the door of the ambulance open. The legging of her left leg had been ripped and she had a medical band wrapped around her thigh. She was wearing her sweatshirt so they couldn't see the one around her shoulder. She'd heard part of their conversation and was looking at them with a worried look. "Who's dying?"

* * *

 **Taiga's POV**

I ran as fast as I could through the streets of Shizume, under a black sky and an absent moon. The mission had been a total fiasco. JUNGLE stole the Slates. The Green King has allied himself with Ryu. Lana had the insane power of her King. Mr Munakata practically abandoned the battlefield and left Shiro to deal with everything. Ome was in the hospital on the brink of death. All of that was enough. It was already too much. Enough to make one of our allies give up on the situation. We couldn't take another blow. Not like this. I wouldn't let it. I ran around as fast as I could. My breath was fast and my lungs were burning, but I didn't stop. My leg was killing me but I did my best to ignore it. All I knew was in what direction he had left. 'Come on, where are you?' I finally caught sight of him in a small park. He was holding his PDA in his hand. I could tell by the green light.

"SARU!" I called out.

He turned around and quickly put his phone away. "Oh, it's you." He said as I tried to catch my breath. "I don't know why you bothered coming here."

"What are you trying to do?!" I shouted. "Bailing on us like that, at this time? Really?"

"I'm not into being a pawn for the Silver King. I don't serve selfish cowards either."

"And because of one little argument with your King you want to leave? His pride took a big hit for the first time, but he's going to take action again. He's just as stubborn as Mr Mikoto!"

"Yeah, well I'm not going to wait for him to snap out of it. Besides, that was personal." His eyes were full of anger as he said that. He turned around and started walking away, but I grabbed his wrist with both of my hands and stopped him.

"WE NEED YOU!"

He turned around and for once looked genuinely surprised. "JUNGLE stole the Slates! Ryu's back! Half of our clans are in bad shape! Ome's struggling between life and death as we speak! We can't take another blow Saru, not now! We're completely vulnerable! We need you!"

He frowned at me again and took his hand back. "What you need is a hacker that can keep up with your plans. I'm sure you don't need my help to find that."

"NO!" I yelled. "It's you we need Saru. You're one of us! We've been fighting the same fight since it began. All the clans, we have a bond. And if we want to fight Ryu and the Green King, we need to do it together! You can't cut us off!"

"Watch me." He replied with a bored voice. He started walking away again.

"If not for yourself then please, do it for Ome! I'm asking as a favor."

The blue clansman stopped and suddenly turned around to grab me by my shirt and forcefully made be back up until my back hit a tree a little too violently. "Ow." He then brought his face a couple inches away from mine.

"Do it for Ome? That would imply we have some sort of connexion with each other."

"But you do! You're our friend, Saru!"

"Tch. If you believe that, then you're an idiot."

"If you're not, then why did you come save me back when Ryu kidnapped me? Why did you even bother planting a tracker on me and using yourself as bait so that Yata and I could run away? You're not making any sense!"

"I just did my job as a SCEPTER 4 member. The only relation we ever had was the one concerning the job, and in case you didn't notice, I spent the past six months arresting you. Now, I quit."

I couldn't believe my ears. Saruhiko was one to say mean things all the time and never admit he was wrong, but this... This was way over the top. "Saru...I can understand why you want to quit. But there's no way in hell you're going to make me believe that there's no connexion between us."

"Oh? Then why don't you prove it?"

"Prove it?! It's obvious! How can I prove it?"

"Kiss me."

"What?"

"You heard me. Go on." He said, as a smirk appeared on his face. He leaned in closer. "You're the one that asked how you could prove it. And don't flatter yourself, it doesn't mean anything to me."

That was it. I punched him in the face to get him off of me, making his glasses fall in the process. "Stop playing around! I'm serious."

"Hmpf." Saruhiko picked up his glasses and put them back on. "So am I. I think you've got bigger problems to worry about than trying to convince me to come back. I'm done playing this game. Follow me again and I'll knock you out."

He let go off me and started walking away again. "Saruhiko!" I called out one more time, but he ignored me and kept walking away. Why the hell was everything so wrong? I clenched my teeth and a tear of frustration escaped my eye. I waited for Saru to disappear from my sight, to erase it and turn around slowly to start walking back to the bar where everyone had probably gone back by now, but I took three steps before stopping. A few meters in front of me, Yata was standing there, holding his skateboard in one hand, and wearing a serious expression.

"Yata? What are you doing here?"

"I followed you. What were you two talking about?" He asked.

I looked down. "He's leaving SCEPTER 4. For good."

I saw him clench his fists and teeth. I had enough tension for one day. "Let's go back." I said as I started walking. I was about to pass him but he suddenly grabbed my arm with a strong grip. I flinched in surprise and a little because of the pain.

"Yata?" I asked a little worried.

He suddenly looked like he was struggling with an intense pain. He looked at my leg, but it looked like he was forcing himself to. "I'm … sorry." He let out.

"Huh?"

He leaned his head on my shoulder, still wearing that same expression. "I'm sorry, Taiga."

'I couldn't protect you' was what he meant. Normally, it would have annoyed me and I would've told him that I wasn't his responsibility. But I was not in the mood to get angry. I placed a hand on his head. "I'm sorry too."

His cellwatch rang, warning us that it was midnight. I looked up at the falling snow. "Worst Christmas Eve ever..." I said, as I felt all of my frustration coming out in the form of tears.

"Yeah, no shit." He replied.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it even though it ends on a sad note :'(. Next chapter, we'll see how things go now that the Green and Purple Kings got their hands on the Slates. Until next time guys!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**


	26. Chapter 25 : Sleepless and Secrets

**Hi guys! So... let's see how things went after the fiasco. Little less action, little more drama in this chapter but don't freak out! The action will be back very soon. In this one, sleep is missed and JUNGLE isn't!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **ONE MONTH AFTER THE CHRISTMAS EVE MISSION**

"Taiga, it's really late." Said Kosuke. "You should get some sleep."

I didn't take my eyes off the tablet and kept typing as I answered. "Only five more minutes." I said.

It was pitch black and around 1:30am, but I was not tired. More like I was forcing myself not to sleep. My tablet was linked to Shizume's security cameras, curtesy of SCEPTER 4. I was searching for them. Any of them who would show up. Anyone from JUNGLE or ARCHITECT. All of us were positive that they were still around in Shizume somewhere and we had to find them. For a month now, people have randomly started developing King powers in Tokyo and around. It was only a matter of time until all of Japan would be swarming with new Kings, even though they were far from equaling the real Seven on weissman levels. We had our hands full now. And not just us. SCEPTER 4, HOMRA and even the Strain Society were being called upon a lot more than before to help contain new supernatural incidents. More specifically, I was searching for Akihiko and Yukari. Why those two? The doctor that was taking care of Ome at the hospital told me that she had been stabbed in the back with a blade. And those two were the only blade wielders in the Green and Purple Clan. No need to say I wanted them to pay for what they did to my friend. I heard Eric sighed and he pressed the off button of the tablet before taking it from my hands.

"Hey!"

"We know what five minutes means to you." He commented. "Same as an all nighter. Honestly, get some sleep."

"Why are you pushing yourself like that?"

"Why you ask? Because I feel useless, that's why Kosuke!" I snapped. "The government lost trust in SCEPTER 4, the Strain Society is cooped with work, Ome hasn't woken up from her coma and we're still not sure she's gonna make it, Saru straight out abandoned us, Shizume and even Tokyo are starting to get swarmed by supernatural powers, the world is freaking out and JUNGLE's low ranked are still driving us nuts! Yashiro's spends all his time locked up to find a solution, we're running all over the place to try and contain the situation as best we can, the Blue clan is using every single last resources they have to locate the Slates and the Green King, and all I'm good for when I'm not chasing down strains, is sitting my ass in this couch not doing a single thing!"

I took a deep breath after I let all of that out. Recently, getting angry was way too easy. It was like a never-ending frustration was eating at me from the inside. And whenever I blurted things out like that, I wanted to cry at the end. I'm pretty sure even punching something at full power wouldn't calm me down.

The two boys sat next to me on the couch. "Look, I know what we do doesn't seem to be much. I can't believe I'm saying this but, every bit counts."

"Then why is nothing changing? It seems like everything gets worse every time we do something. And you guys get to run around more than me." I complained, looking at my still bandaged thigh.

"Who's fault is it for running with a wounded leg and making it worse?"

"I had to try and stop him. I still can't believe he just walked out on us like that. It's not like him at all."

"Nothing unusual from where we stand from." Growled Kosuke.

Saruhiko's betrayal of the red clan seemed like it would never be forgiven. "Where is everyone? Anna's asleep upstairs."

"Mr Kusanagi's on a mission with Lieutenant Awashima. Thank heaven she's still active. The Blue King crumbled ever since the Christmas fiasco. Awashima the one really in charge for now."

"What kind of mission?"

"Don't know. He wouldn't say squat." Said Eric. "As for Mr Mikoto, I have no idea. Do you Kosuke?"

"Nope."

"And Yata's still not back?" I asked.

"Maybe he is, but it's late he probably went home."

I sighed. "Yeah, you're right. You guys should hit the pillows too."

"No can do. We're babysitting."

"Haha." I said unamused. "I promise I'll got to sleep right away. Go home."

"Okay." Said Kosuke smiling. He ruffled my hair before the two of them stood up. "See you tomorrow, Taiga."

"Good night, guys."

The second they closed the door, I put the tablet aside and let myself fall on the couch. The only sounds I hear are the distant passing cars and the clock ticking. The situation honestly couldn't be worse. I cursed myself for jinxing us. I'd barely gotten a wink of sleep. My biggest worries were Ome and Saru. I was more than worried for the doctor strain that had been sleeping for a month and beyond angry at the former blue clansman for walking out on us like that. I was pretty sure that if he'd been here, we would've already found the Dresden Slates. I forced myself not to turn on the tablet again and close my eyes to fall asleep. But that's when my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I took it out and answered without bothering to check who it was.

"Hello?"

" _Taiga. Hey. It's me."_ Not a hint of joy in this voice.

I sat up. "Yata? What's up? Aren't you home already?"

" _No I, huh... I just got back to Shizume..."_

I waited for him to say more but he didn't. "Is something wrong? It's not like you to call after day-long missions..."

I heard him sighed on the other side. _"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. It's just...well there's... there's something I want to talk to you about."_

The sound and tone of his voice were unfamiliar to me. There was no embarrassment whatsoever, but he was speaking very slowly and seemed to have trouble voicing his thoughts. Like whatever he had to say was extremely important. "Yes?" I encouraged.

" _It's about Mr Mikoto..."_

"What about him? He's not here, and I don't know where he is." I waited for him to reply but he never did. "Yata? You're scaring me, what's wrong?"

" _...hum..."_

"Come on Yata."

" _No... never mind. It's not important. I'm sorry I woke you up. I'll see you tomorrow."_

"Wait a minute..." He'd already hung up. That was one weird phone call. What was he up to?

* * *

 **Shizume streets, Yata's POV**

I was pissed. It was super late and rolling alone at night was annoying. I'd taken care of a bunch of greens with Kamamoto that were causing trouble, and I wanted nothing more than to shower and go to bed. The white-haired King had been locked up in his room for a month trying to find a solution to the shit we were into. And I felt like everything I was doing was worthless and that pissed me off even more. I was about to turn into the next street when I spotted someone walking down the opposite sidewalk. I rubbed my eyes. It was Mr Mikoto. Him? Getting up in the middle of the night? Did I miss something or what? Coming from my King, it was weird. I quickly hid in an alley and waited for him to pass. Then I picked up my skate and followed him. I tailed him for a good half hour through the streets of Shizume. I was so focused on staying discreet that I didn't realize that the way was familiar. Before I knew it, we had reached the bridge that led to Ashinaka.

'Why is he going there? Does he have a meeting with Shiro or something?'

That's when I saw a taxi stop in front of the bridge. Mr Mikoto stopped and looked at the car before sighing. The person that came out of the car was a man in civilian clothing... that was none other than the Blue King. I almost didn't recognize him without his uniform. But I couldn't be wrong.

'What the hell is going on? Do the Kings have a secret meeting?'

The Blue King walked up to the Mr Mikoto, who sighed at his arrival. "You showing up at the exact same place and time as me is creepy, Munakata." He said, taking a cigaret out of his pack.

"I could say the same to you Suho. Seeing you at this hour is probably going to ruin my entire day." Cockily replied the Blue King with a smirk.

"Hmpf." Let out the red King, offering him a cigaret. To my big surprise the Blue King took one and Mr Mikoto lit it before he could even take his lighter out.

"Show off." Said SCEPTER 4's King. "I don't think we're aloud to smoke in front of a high school's entrance."

"Who cares? No ones up at this time. I sure as hell shouldn't be."

"I suppose this could be the privilege of the soon-to-be-gone."

Soon-to-be-gone? What in the world were they talking about? And what were they even doing here? The two of them started walking again and I resumed my tailing. In the end, their destination was not the Island, but the beach next to the bridge. I approached the beach, crouching behind the rocks and got behind the closest one to be able to hear them. The two of them smoked quietly for a while and only the wind was the only noise, along with the quiet crash of the waves. It was normal for Mr Mikoto. He smoked like a locomotive. But in certainly wasn't for the other guy. At least I didn't think so.

"So, what are you planning to do now, Munakata?" Asked the Red King.

"What I have always planned to do Suho." Replied the Blue King. "Fulfill my duty. Even knowing the consequences. What about you?"

"Well, it'd be a pain in the ass to stay in a bed waiting like an old rotting prune for the next three years." He blew smoke out of his lungs. "I'd rather go down with a fight."

"Agreeing on something with you is rather unexpected. Since we're on the subject of agreement, let's make another deal. Should I decay faster... do not hesitate to give me the final blow. I will do the same for you."

"Right." Lazily replied the Red King.

"By the way, Suho. Do you plan on telling your clan?"

"What's there to tell?"

"That you're Sword of Damocles is this close to falling."

I stopped breathing for a second, wondering if I heard wrong. What the hell did he mean by this close to falling? I didn't know shit about the Slates and sword, but I at least knew a falling wasn't a joke.

"It seems that the rocks here have ears." He turned around. "Come out. I know you're there."

'Crap. Busted.' I waited a second before standing up and facing the two Kings. "I should have known. You have a strong tendency to find trouble, Misaki Yata."

The insult didn't even catch on. I stared at Mr Mikoto, eyes focused and my mind full of questions. My King just stared back at me. He had his usual overly relaxed face, but this time, it somehow felt different. Why did he suddenly seem so much more tired than usual? The blue King sighed, getting our attention.

"It seems you need to talk. I'll be heading back first."

The Blue King walked away without throwing another glance at me and I waited for his footsteps to die away. When only the sound of the waves was left, Mr Mikoto told me to come closer with a movement of the head before turning back to face the sea. I walked closer. He was looking in the distance, while I was staring at the ground. Things couldn't get any worse? Hell, they just did!

"You shouldn't have followed me, Yata."

"What's going on, Mr Mikoto? What was he talking about?" I asked, without really wanting an answer.

"My sword's cracking. Apparently."

"Apparently?!"

"It's what the doc said. She was monitoring my weissman level."

"But... that was a month ago! Why didn't you say anything!" I suddenly yelled.

He didn't answer and just looked at me with a small smile. He never did that. That wasn't like him. I clenched my fists so hard that they were shaking. Then, unable to stand the tension anymore, I asked straight out. "Are you... gonna die, Mr Mikoto?"

The Red King stopped without turning around. He blew smoke out of his lungs before answering. "Probably."

All my muscles tensed up, and I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. Mr Mikoto suddenly turned around. He stopped next to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Izumo knows. But don't tell the others about this."

His voice was the same as ever, but that wasn't just a random sentence. It was the first absolute order I ever received from my King. I felt a burning sensation travel my body from my ankle to my head. Mr Mikoto then walked away. When his footsteps died in the night, my whole body suddenly tensed up. And then relax. I dropped my skate. I stared at the sea. My body was shaking because of the tension, and I was biting down so hard I thought my teeth were gonna break. My entire arm got surrounded by fire and I punched the huge rock beside me.

"FUCK!"

It exploded into a million pieces, and it was like a mini meteor shower on the entire beach. I breathed heavily for god know how long before leaning my back against another rock and let myself fall on the sand. I grabbed my beanie tightly. I felt like my brain was gonna explode like the rock. What the hell was I suppose to do now? Go home and sleep tight? That was not happening. I needed to clear my mind, and something told me that even if I punched every damn rock on this beach it wouldn't be enough. Damn it! What was gonna happen to Mr Mikoto? And to all of us? That's when my cell watch beeped.

"WHAT?!"

" _Wow! Chill man! Someone's had a bad day..."_

"What d'you want Kosuke?"

" _I just wanted to tell you that Taiga was a little disappointed not to see you. She's probably still awake. You should give her a quick call before you hit the pillows."_

"Tch. What're you now, my mom?"

" _She'd tell you the same thing, hothead. Gotta go. See ya later man."_

He hung up. Taiga was still awake again? It's not like I can judge, but... Now I knew how she felt. I didn't like the idea of her exhausting herself. I looked at my watch pensively. Even if she'd been under house arrest most of the time, she still pushed herself to help. She payed attention to what needed to be done. She listened. She was good at that. That girl... I could trust her, right? Without realizing, I'd dialed her number. After a few beeps, she picked up.

 _"Hello?"_

"Taiga. Hey. It's me."

" _Yata? What's up? Aren't you home already?"_

"No I, huh... I just got back to Shizume..."

" _Is something wrong? It's not like you to call after day-long missions..."_

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. It's just...well there's... there's something I want to talk to you about."

* * *

 **HOMRA bar, Taiga's POV**

I dropped my glass on the ground, breaking the silence that's been occupying the room for the past five minutes. Ever since, Mr Kusanagi gave us the report on his mission with the Lieutenant. He'd waited to gather everyone to tel us. They'd failed because of the interference of a green clansman. And not just any. Saruhiko Fushimi. The whole clan was here, including Anna and Mr Mikoto. Everyone was quiet but all were frowning and had angry looks on their faces. I was... in shock state. And I thought things couldn't get any worse. I wanted to hit myself for jinxing us. Yata hit the counter with his fist, and clenched his teeth.

"What the hell is that guy thinking?"

"Calm down Yata." Said Mr Kusanagi. "Taiga, my glass please?"

"First he betrays us, now he betrays the blues? What's the point?! For him to go that far!" Shouted the pissed off crow. "He has no loyalty, no sense of honor... he's just as rotten to the core as the Green King! You know what? I'm not even surprised!"

Another long moment of silence went by. "I don't believe it." I muttered.

"Did you say something Taiga?" Asked the bartender.

I turned to all of them and shouted. "I DON'T BELIEVE IT! I don't believe Saru betrayed us! It's not possible."

"Well, believe it." Said Yata, aggressively. "He's done the same thing to us two years ago. I don't see why Mr Professional-at-letting-your-comrades-down wouldn't do it again."

"I can tell you guys didn't take him leaving well. But I don't think he betrayed you. I don't think that's how it went down."

"What do you mean? You weren't there two years ago. He left us for the blues. How's that not betraying us?"

"That's the thing Yata, I don't think he belonged with you guys in the first place." Everyone looked at me with surprised eyes so I explained. "You guys are carefree, loud, laughing all the time, getting a kick out of your job and your fine with this way of life. And so am I. I enjoy every day with HOMRA and being with you. It's a stable life that we live and we don't ask for more. But Saruhiko... he's too much of an introvert. He has a critical eyes on everything. Remember he always says that having that much power and not doing anything with it is ridiculous. He sees a bigger picture, and even though he'll never admit, he's trying to make the world a better place by giving it order. That's why he belonged with SCEPTER 4 in the first place. Because he has an objective with them."

"Then why did he bother joining HOMRA in the first place?" Growled the crow.

"Because of you. He told me so himself. Correct me if I'm wrong but you guys used to be best friends. He's a complicated guy that acts like an old man. As a high schooler, having that kind of personality is hard and it's not easy to make friends. You were probably the only one he had. So he followed you. But he didn't belong here. I can't even picture him messing around like we do all the time."

"Then he would have bothered explaining!"

"You wouldn't have listened and you know it, you hothead. Put yourself in his shoes for a moment. What if it was SCEPTER 4 that you guys had gone into and that you were completely out of place while everyone else was fitting in fine? Would you have put up with it forever? Well, that's how Saru felt."

Yata punched the counter again, this time making a hole in it, to Mr Kusanagi's horror. "Why do you defend him so much?! That doesn't change the fact that he abandoned us and crossed over to the Greens! Why do you think he did it then?!"

"I don't know anymore than you do Yata." I shouted exasperated. "I'm trying to understand."

"Why do you even care?" Replied the crow, shouting even louder. "He betrayed all of us, that's all there is to know."

I gave him a bewildered look. "Because he's my friend Yata!"

"Your friend? He was a blue!"

"So what? He came to save me when Ryu kidnapped me. I know what kind of person he is. I was no one to him. Just a random hint for an investigation. He didn't know who I was. That didn't keep him from putting himself in danger for me. He may be insufferable as a person but he's not a bad guy. I don't believe it."

"Those are only words. The fact is he's JUNGLE now. That means he's our enemy!" His eyes suddenly turned very dark and an angry fire burned in his irises. "And I crush my enemies."

I stood up from my seat and got closer to him. He was scaring me. I'd never seen him this angry, not even at Ryu's mansion. I still forced myself to come very close and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Yata you're blinded by your hatred. Did you ever think that maybe you were wrong about him?"

He stayed silent for a minute. "What about you?" He then said with a low, voice.

"Huh? Why are we suddenly talking about me?"

He gave me an almost disgusted look. "Are you sure you didn't confess to the wrong guy?"

"Misaki!" Scolded Anna, while all the other guys were making stunned faces.

I froze, my eyes widened and I stared at him. It felt like something had made every sensation inside disappear. The only thing I was sensing, was my heartbeat resonating in my head. It felt like my breathing was gone as well. Yata looked a little distressed when he saw my lack of reaction and just looked away. I opened my mouth to say whatever acid-coated words I had on my heart. But nothing came. Inside me was just a pit of emptiness. I closed it and turned around, walking towards the door. I felt Yata follow me.

"Taiga, wait … "

The second he touched me, I felt it. The anger exceeded it's usual level so much that I couldn't contain myself. Before he even got the chance to begin his sentence, my whole body caught fire and I turned around, punching him as hard as I could in the stomach. The vanguard was sent flying and his back hit the counter. It wasn't a strong hit, for an aura powered one. And it was in no way strong enough to hurt him for real. He straightened up and gave me a surprised look. I was shaking. I'm sure he caught a glimpse of that one tear of rage that escaped my eye and quickly evaporated due to the heat.

"Stay away from me." I ordered in between two heavy breaths.

I turned around, walked out of the bar and ran away as fast as I could with no clear goal in mind, aside from getting the hell away. In the center of Shizume. The evening was coming and it was filled with people. Too many for my taste, I found a quiet and dark alley, sat on the ground and buried my face in my arms. Why would he say that to me? I know he was angry, and I know times are shitty for everyone, but what had that to do with anything? I let my tears out, to at least relieve myself of the feelings that were choking me. I heard footsteps walk closer and stop in front of me.

"I don't have any money. Go away." I said, really not in the mood to deal with street punks.

"Yoruichi?"

I suddenly looked up. My adopted brother was standing in front of me, his katana in one hand as always and a grocery bag on the other. "Kuro?" I quickly wiped the tears. "What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you that question."

"I was looking for a peaceful place."

Kuro offered me a hand that I took. "Hang on to me."

I did what he told me and with his mystic hand, brought us up to the roofs. The sky was clear and at least there, there wasn't anyone. I sat on the edge of the roof. Kuro knelt down and put his stuff down, before taking a tissue out of his jacket and place it on my nose. I took it from him and blew my nose. What a mother hen. He sat down next to me.

"Now, care to explain why you were crying?" He asked.

I thought about what I should say. If I told him that it was Yata that had made me cry, he would probably head to the bar right now to murder him. "Mr Kusanagi just told us that Saruhiko betrayed us..."

"So I've heard from Shiro. Is that really all that's troubling you?" Asked the young samurai, a bit suspicious.

"No. No it's not! I'm this close to breaking down. Ome's not even close to waking up. Mr Munakata basically called off the Alliance. Shiro's doing all the work. I feel useless and in the meantime, JUNGLE is slowly taking over the government officials. The fact that there's literally no positive points in our situation, is driving me nuts. And then there's Yata..."

Kuro frowned. "What about him?"

"I don't know what's wrong with him, but he'd never talk like that if he was his normal self. I know we're all tensed up and frustrated but..."

"Let it out Yoruichi. Otherwise you're going to explode."

"Why does he have to be such a jerk and be so selfish? He's acting like a jealous pouting kid! I'm always patient with his hotheadedness, but this! That was too much. He's so exasperating! I'm angry Kuro. And I don't know how to let it out. I've never been this angry in my life!"

The young samurai didn't reply right away, and looked at me with attentive eyes. He then pulled a small device out of his jacket. I knew it very well. It was the recorder with all my father's Haikus. I'd listen to it so many times. I liked hearing the voice of the deceased Colorless King. He pressed a button.

 _When all is darkness_

 _Making light is your duty_

 _In your friends hope will be born._

I smiled, and wiped my tears away again. "I didn't know that one."

"I myself only listen to it when I'm at loss." Said Kuro smiling back. He stood back up. "We've lost nothing yet, Yoru. If we give up now, then they've won."

"The world's best chance, huh?"

"Shiro is almost finished with his plans."

"He is?"

He nodded. "All that is left now, is to find the Slates. Has Anna been able to pinpoint anything?"

I shook my head. "No, but she's positive they're still here."

"I have to go. Will you be alright getting down by yourself?"

"Yeah, don't worry. Thank you Kuro."

The young samurai jumped off and disappeared in the crowd. I sighed and meditated on my father's Haiku. When all is dark, make light yourself? Was that what it meant? Things were pretty depressing, but now that I knew that Yashiro was almost done finding a solution, I felt better and got my mind working again. Yata's words stung but I tried not to think about him. I would probably cry again if I did. So Yashiro was almost done. So we had to find the location of the Slates. It's not like we hadn't tried. Whenever we caught green clansmen they immediately lost their powers and anything on their phone related to the JUNGLE app. disappeared. And when they talked, they all said that the rendezvous point was different everyday. And they weren't aloud to see the King if they weren't J-Rank. And they never came outside. The only one I'd spotted a couple times was Sukuna, but he always managed to escape us. The kid was clever. I guess we could try tailing them, but Nagare Hisui has eyes everywhere. We'd get spotted in a second.

No there was one thing that could work. I opened my Mail and searched for the invitation. I stared at the Accept button. If I pressed it, the Green King would know immediately. Then what? I was already a pawn in this game. So what more would it do? Only one way to find out. But I was going to need a few things.

* * *

I spent the rest of the afternoon preparing. And when the evening came. I got a call from Mr Kusanagi and I told him I didn't want to talk to anyone right now. I couldn't let anyone in on this, otherwise the Green King would never catch the bait. I had to be truthful. Then again, I had a real reason to be. I waited for nightfall before heading to the place where Sukuna had last been spotted. Once there, I made sure no one was around and finally clicked the acceptance button. My whole screen got covered with the JUNGLE logo. I gulped. It beeped a couple of times.

" _Well, well. Isn't this a surprise Miss Miwa? I wasn't expecting you to accept that invitation."_

"Liar." I said.

" _Now tell me, how I can help you?"_

"I want to meet with you."

" _Do you? May I ask why?"_

"Because there's someone with you I want to talk to."

" _Unfortunately, I'm afraid the Purple King is not with me. And I'm sorry to say, I don't know where he is."_

"Not Ryu. Someone else. Your latest J-Rank."

" _Oh? Interesting. What is your relationship with him?"_

"That isn't any of your business. But if you want to know, I want going to knock some sense into him. You've got nothing to loose. No one's with me."

Even if I couldn't see his face, I knew he was smirking. _"Very well, stay where you are. I'll send your escort. See you soon, Yoruichi."_

I clenched my teeth. He accepted way too fast. That was the proof that he didn't trust me one bit. And he was right. I took deep breaths and leaned against a wall. I closed my eyes. My plan was completely improvised but it was the only option I had. If I had the slightest connection with my clan, he'll know right away. After a fight right now, was probably the best time. But I knew he didn't doubt my loyalty to HOMRA. I knew they'd be sick with worry and that I was going to get chewed out when they'd find me. I closed my eyes and thought of Yata. What had made him say that to me? I was going to make him spit it out when I saw him again. I promised myself. I heard footsteps and opened my eyes. Yukari was walking towards me with a smile on his face.

"Milady, your escort is here." He said bowing dramatically, before getting closer. "I'm glad to see you again."

"Whatever. Let's just go."

"So impatient. I thought Kuro had taught you better than that. Hm? Your eyes are red. Were you crying?"

"Are you going to spout nonsense all night or can we go?"

"Before we do that, may I please have you PDA?"

I opened my mouth and hesitated. But he wasn't taking me anywhere without this. I took it out of my pocket and reluctantly gave it to the green clansman who took out his own. He looked through it a couple of times, before scanning it with his own. I knew that JUNGLE used a lot of high tech and I had no clue what he was doing. When his phone beeped he put it back in his coat. He then looked at me with that creepy smile of his again.

"Now to take care of this." He tossed my PDA in the air, and with elegant and lighting quick movements, sliced it to pieces with his sword. I flinched feeling... disconnected from anything else. No pun intended.

"Is something wrong?" Asked the green clansman, sheathing his sword. "Did you change your mind?"

"Even if I did you wouldn't just let me go."

"That's true. My orders are to bring you. On to phase two then?"

"Phase two?"

He looked at something behind me and I reflexively turned around, which was my undoing. The second my back was turned, Yukari hit me behind the neck and I lost consciousness.

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 **Taiga being a big girl again! I wonder how that's going to turn out. And ... where is Ryu if he's not with Nagare? See you next chapter!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**


	27. Chapter 26 : Friend and Foe

**Hi guys! I'm finally back. Exams are over and I'm ready to write like a freakin' word machine! As always, I hope you like this chapter in which we see the result of Taiga's 'brilliant' idea.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

My head felt like it weighed a ton. The darkness was like an incredibly thick substance that I was swimming through to reach the surface. Once I finally really felt awake, it took forever for my heavy eyelids to open. Everything was blurry for a little while. I could tell I was on the ground. Everything felt... normal. I could hear a couple of voices talking. When my eyes finally adjusted, I saw that I was in some kind of domestic household. Suddenly, a certain young boy's face appeared in my line of sight. He was smiling.

"Ah! She's waking up."

I grunted, while pushing myself up to sit. I looked at the people in the room. The first was of course Sukuna, who seemed way too happy of my presence. The second was Yukari, cleaning his katana. The third was the strain that made the smoke screen. And finally, sitting in a wheelchair, strapped in some sort of straightjacket, was the Green King. And I was surprised to see that unlike all the other Kings I'd met, he didn't give off that vibe showing off his power. Unlike he did the night of the Christmas eve mission. My head was still hurting. 'Damn, he did not go easy on me.'

"Did I hit you too hard? Poor dear. If you want, I can give you a massage to ease the pain."

Sukuna let his tongue, making a repulsed face. "Stop being gross, Yukari."

I ignored them and reflexively brought my hand to my chest to feel the tool I'd taken with me. Except that I felt nothing in the inter-chest pocket of my sweatshirt.

"Looking for this?" I looked at the green clansman. In his hand, he was holding the extra PDA I'd taken (well, stolen from someone passing by). 'Darn it.' I thought. I frowned at him.

"That look on your face with those eyes is simply captivating, Yoruichi. I could stare all day."

"Stay the hell away from me, you pervert." I threatened. "And my name is Taiga. You don't have the right to call me that."

"I'm offended. I thought you and I practically had a sibling bond, with being Master Ichigen's daughter."

"After what you did to my father, I forbid you to call me or Kuro your siblings."

He smirked and was about to say something else when another intervened. "Leave her be, Yukari." I turned to the man in the wheelchair. "Good morning, Miss Miwa. We've met once before but I don't believe I had the time to introduce myself back then. I am..."

"I know who you are, Nagare Hisui." I interrupted, throwing the man an angry glare. "Where is he?"

"Who?"

"The reason I came here. Where is he?"

"He'll be with us shortly. In the mean time, I would like to ask you something."

I sighed. I was powerless here. Yukari could chop my head off before I even summon my aura. And I couldn't do anything until Saru got here. Maybe talking could get me somewhere. "I can't guarantee that I'll answer." I said. "And I have questions for you too. For all of you actually."

"That's all right." Said the green king. "First, what do you think of me?"

I was not expecting that. But now that he mentioned it. "Are you sure you want to know what I think?"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be asking."

"You're a madman who can't even measure the consequences of his insane desires. You say you want to give strength to everyone, but there will always be people stronger than others, supernatural powers or not. No matter how you look at it, that selfish game you're playing at is doomed to fail." I said looking at him straight in the eyes. Unlike Ryu... unlike Mr Mikoto... and even Mr Munakata... this man had no impression on me. There was not this uncomfortable vibe that I could almost smell in the air whenever I was facing a King. This one... he didn't scare me. He was just weird. Truthfully, I think I feared Yukari more than him. I felt nothing. He was empty. But that's what made me uncomfortable. When we met in the tower, even if it was just for a second, I felt an electrical vibe traveling down my spine when he smiled at me. I wondered if that's what Yashiro had mention. About him having no heart and being sustained only by his power. The man in question looked at me without blinking.

"It seems your opinion on the situation is set. It's your turn to ask a question."

I turned to the man drinking beer. "You, your name is Seigo Ootori, correct?"

"I left that name behind a long time ago, kiddo. I'm Tenkei Iwafune now."

"How do you know Ome?" I asked.

The middle-aged man smiled and took another sip of his beer before answering. "Not so long ago, I tried to create an organization and find a place that could be a refuge to anyone, especially kids and strains living on the streets. I'd gathered over three hundred of them. Then the Kagutsu crater incident happened, killing thousandth, including every single one of my proteges. I somehow survived and found Nagare."

"What does that have to do with Ome?"

"There was a strain couple in my organization. They had a four year old daughter at the time, that had been sent away to a hospital away from Tokyo. At the time I didn't know if the child would develop strain powers or not. So I decided to keep an eye on her from afar just in case she ever did. But one day, I went to the home where she'd been in foster care for a while. It turns out the little thing was brilliant and entered university at the age of nine. I went to find her. By then she had also developed her foresight power. We talked a bit and I asked if she wanted to come with me. But she said she had to finish studying because there was something that she wanted to do."

"The Strain Society."

"Exactly. She was only thirteen when she started it. It's such a shame she didn't accept my offer that day. Still, I'm proud that she managed to do something that I failed to."

"You sound like you care about her."

"I do have a soft spot for her, yes."

"Would you kill her if he told you to?" I said looking at Nagare.

"You seem to think I am a murderer, Miss Miwa." Commented the King.

"I don't think, I know. What do you call someone who stabs others in the back? I thought your wide network could get you access to anything. Don't pretend you didn't know about her being in the hospital. I bet you even have access to her monitoring data. That leads me to my next questions." I turned to Yukari. "Are you the one who stabbed her?" I turned back to the green king. "And are you the one who ordered it?"

"I recall being unconscious when that happened." Replied the Green King.

"Why me specifically?" Asked Yukari.

"Out of everyone in both JUNGLE and ARCHITECT, there are only two people who use blades. That's you and Akihiko. It can only be one of you two."

The samurai smiled cockily. "And what will you do if it's me?"

My whole body tensed up and I felt the red aura leak out and surround me. "I'm going to kill you." I said slowly, ready to throw myself at him the second he confirmed it, no matter how rash that was.

The samurai chuckled, obviously pleased by my reaction. "I would love to see you try. Unfortunately, I was at the command of the chopper when that happened. If you don't believe me, Sukuna can confirm it."

My muscles relaxed and the aura disappeared. So it was Akihiko. But it wouldn't have surprised me if it had been Yukari. I turned to the Green King, waiting for him to answer my question. "As I said, I was unconscious. I did not expect Ome Shiranui to recover from the poison so quickly."

"She's tougher than she looks." Said the strain in the priest outfit. "She did survive that stab."

A virtual screen appeared in front of Nagare Hisui. "Yes, but she still has yet to regain consciousness. Her state is unstable and she could die at the slightest mistake."

"Shut up." I said a little too loud. The doctors repeated that to me every time I went to visit her but it always sent shivers down my spine to hear it. Like every time it was said, Ome was one step closer to death.

"Forgive me, that was inconsiderate." Apologized the Green King. " Now on to my next question. Why is it that Ryu Karasuno has so much interest for you?"

"He's obsessed with my eyes." I lied, not wanting to talk about the one person that haunted my nightmares.

"You're lying. He's not one to admire power, no matter how fascinating." Immediately replied the King.

"Isn't it obvious?" Said Yukari. "He loves her."

"No, he doesn't." I snapped. "Wanting to keep someone locked up isn't love. It's obsession."

"It's still a form of love."

"Stop talking Yukari. You're grossing out everyone." Said Sukuna, before turning to me with a big smile. "Hey, Miss. Want to play another game with me sometime?"

"Sorry. I'm not exactly in a playful mood. And it's not like I'm hanging out with friends."

His eyes suddenly turned dark, but his smirk widened and he pointed the rod of his scythe towards me. "You're being silly Miss. What's a game without opponents?"

'Damn, this kid really thinks this is a game.' Someone's PDA beeped and Yukari suddenly stood up and went to open the door. The person who stepped in was in civilian clothes, wearing glasses and a bored expression.

"Welcome back, Saruhiko. We have a guest who wants to see you."

"Tch. Whatever." Replied the ex blue clansman, before looking up and seeing me, while I was trying to process the fact that he was really here. So it was true. He really had defected to JUNGLE. His eyes widened as well for a second before he frowned again.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hi Saru. I came here to see if what Mr Kusanagi had said was true."

"So you willingly gave yourself up as a hostage to us? That must be the stupidest thing you've ever done." He sat down on the ground, on the other side of the table.

I shook my head. "Why? Explain it to me. What made you do this?"

"Why should I tell you?"

My body started shaking with anger. "First you abandon us. Now you join up with the one person you were fighting a month ago. What the hell has gone through your head Saru? Have you completely lost it?"

"Why do you care?"

"I care because your my friend."

"How touching." Said Yukari, snickering. "I feel like I'm watching a confession."

"I'm not talking to you. Shut up, Yukari." I told the green clansman, before turning back to Saru.

"You're still going on about that friendship bullshit." Growled the ex-blue clansman. "What I do is none of your business. It doesn't have anything to do with you."

"Yes it does! How could you join up with the people who practically murdered Ome?"

"You want a reason? I was tired of everything being this boring. The Captain is a coward that completely gave up on the situation. You say I abandoned you, but look at him." He chuckled evilly. "He ran away, tail between his legs. You could say I was disappointed. First by your King and now by the Blue King. I'm giving JUNGLE a try. Nothing more and nothing less. It sounded interesting, that's all. It's much easier than having to deal with stuff like relationships."

Sukuna suddenly sprang up to his feet and summoned the green aura and two green blades formed at the end of the metal rod he was carrying. He pointed the scythe towards Saru that didn't move one bit. "If you betray us, I'll cut you into little pieces."

"Stop it, Sukuna." Ordered the Green King. "Saruhiko is on our side. Leave him be."

The kid growled before sitting back down, frowning at the ex-blue clansman. I was stunned. Saru was talking like a gamer. 'I didn't like this game so I'm trying another one.' But he wasn't like that. Not the guy that protected me from Ryu. I couldn't believe it.

"Answer me this, Saru. If he tells you to kill me right here and now, would you do it?"

He looked at me from the corner of the eye, as if he was inspecting me inch by inch. I forbid myself to blink until he closed his own eyes and clicked his tongue again. "Tch. Why not? It wouldn't make any difference to me."

The anger in my system tripled. I sprang to my feet grabbed him by the collar from my side of the table and pulled him towards me to make him look at me. "Look me in the eyes and say it again! I dare you!"

He frowned angrily this time. "Let go of me." He ordered with a low and angry voice. At the same time, I felt a sharp pain on my neck and then warm and thick liquid leak on my skin. I looked down, and saw him pressing one of his throwing knives against my neck. I couldn't make anything out of his expression right now. It was like suddenly loosing the ability to read. I let him go. He put his knife away and sat back down, looking away while I looked at him with frightened and confused eyes. Who was this guy? It wasn't Saru, that much I was certain of. But he couldn't be anyone else either. I had to make sure. Even if it costed me. I grabbed an identical throwing knife hidden in my short's leg. (I was grateful that Yukari didn't find it). I took a deep breath and waited for Saru to look at me. " _If you're going to stay here like an idiot, at least have some way to defend yourself._ That's what you told me when you gave me that knife. You're never going to make me believe that you don't care about anyone but yourself Saru."

"Don't be so full of yourself. You're not as good a judge of character as you might think."

"Let me test that."

I flipped the knife in my hand and rose it up in the air, with the intent of stabbing myself in the shoulder with it, and praying that I was right about Saru and that he would stop me before I could hurt myself. I was ready to try. I had to find out. But before I could pierce my own flesh, Yukari moved with lightening quick speed, and grabbed my wrist. He pulled my arm back and twisted it in my back, forcing me to my knees. I let out a painful grunt. It felt like he was going to rip my arm off. By twisting my wrist, he made me drop the knife.

"That's enough, Yoruichi. Playing Russian roulette when you know you're going to loose is stupid. Besides, we're not suppose to give you back injured." I clenched my teeth in frustration. Saru hadn't moved a muscle. He was just looking our way with the same bored expression as usual.

"You can talk Yukari." Said Sukuna. "You're the one that almost broke her ribs the day the Silver King came back."

"Oh, please. That barely left a bruise."

"I saw the whole thing." Added the man in the priest outfit. "Any stronger, and your punch could have sent her over the edge."

Their conversation was distant. I was lost in thought. I didn't understand how Saru could have turned out like this. It was too strange. Too uncommon. The second Yukari had stopped me, I finally understood something . I felt really stupid. So stupid that I started laughing at myself. A chocked laughter that hurt my abs. I earned myself the attention of all the green clansmen. Yukari let me go and looked at me confused. After a minute of nothing but me basically choking myself laughing, Nagare Hisui was the first one to react.

"Is something funny Miss Miwa?"

I let myself take a lot of deep breaths to catch my breath before straightening up and looking at Saru. "How did I not see it? It's so obvious."

"What are you talking about?"

"You and Yata. In the end, you're exactly the same. Once your mind is set on something, words are never enough to get through." I stood back up and gave him the most determined look I had in store. I thought that my anger had run out, but I felt it's presence again. "I'm not going to talk you out of this, am I?"

"..." He didn't reply and just frowned at me again, suspicious of what was going on in my head.

"Then I'll just have to knock some sense into you!"

I let my legs catch fire and with the power of the red aura, threw myself at him with as much speed and strength as it could give me. I grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him so far back that both of us went through the wall of the room, and before I knew it, we were rolling on concrete. I let go of him and rolled even further before quickly getting back on my feet and looking around. We were in what seemed to be a gigantic room with an extremely high ceiling and a lot of very thick pillars. I was sure of one thing : we were underground. And I also instantly spotted them. The Dresden Slates. But I quickly turned my attention back to Saru who was standing up. I let my anger convert to flame again. It was so concentrated that I could practically feel the concrete melting under my feet. This needed to work.

"You won't listen to me, fine! I'll beat you unconscious and make you!"

The ex-blue clansman got back on his feet and took out three knives out of his sleeve. "Don't be an idiot. You don't stand a chance against me."

"Let's see about that!" I shouted as I threw myself on him, my aura tripling the strength in my legs and allowing me to go a lot faster. Saru threw the knives that I dodged with a couple of acrobatic moves and zigzagging. But even when I got close enough to hit him, he easily dodged my punch and sent me back with a violent kick to the stomach. But I landed on my feet and inhaled the red aura before breathing fire towards the ex-blue clansman. This time he had to dodge more than once to avoid the flame. If he had his sword, it would have been much easier to deflect my flames and take me out from a distance. But now, all he had to rely on were his knife throwing skills and he didn't have an endless supply of tools. Meaning my chances of actually landing a hit on him were not that low. I also had another objective in mind. I threw myself on him again, entirely surrounding myself with fire this time. All he could do was dodge me since, the red flames of HOMRA were surrounding me. To avoid being burned, he could only land quick hits. And since dodging was the one thing I was good at in combat, it was harder than what it seemed. Throwing knife at this distance was also a no go. But It wasn't easy for me either. His combat skills were pretty good too. The JUNGLE clansmen and the King were watching us, like kids in front of a screen. I could tell they were enjoying this, but they were also watching carefully. If they were going to give me back to Ryu, it had to be in one piece. And there's no way I could work out my plan if they were watching us. Truth be told, I couldn't win this fight and I knew it damn well. What I needed, was a way to figure out where I was and contact the clan. I forced the ex-blue clansman closer to one of the giant pillars, by cutting his escape routes with flame trails. Once he was close to the wall, I jumped back to get some distance and ran as fast as I could towards him before kicking myself off the ground with the help of the aura. I once more set my whole body on fire and put my body in cannonball position. Saru jumped out of the way. I crashed into the giant pillar making the huge thing crumble and tons of cement dust fly everywhere. That would only hide us a few moments, so I needed to move fast. The second I landed on my feet, I ran towards the shape of the young man that I discerned in the smoke and threw myself on him, punching him in the face and making his glasses fall off. I then grabbed him around the waist. He fell flat on his back, grunting and I plunged my hand in his pocket. But Saru's hand grabbed my shoulder... and I suddenly felt violent electrical charges attack my body. I'd completely forgotten about the fact that Saru had received the green aura as well. When they stopped after a few seconds, my body was completely numb and I fell to the side like a stringless puppet, dropping his PDA in the process. The ex-blue clansman stood back up and picked up his glasses and put them back on. He approached me and gave me a reproachful stare. All I could do was stare back, incapable of moving a muscle. I'd failed. And now all I could do was hope for someone to come save me. Again. I felt tears water my eyes, thinking about my failure. I'd taken a chance and it hadn't paid off at all. Was I so wrong to have believed in him this whole time? He sighed before crouching down to pick up his PDA. He muttered something.

"Why can't you let me do my work properly?"

I'm not sure I caught what he was saying but I didn't get the chance to ask. I was mentally exhausted and closed my eyes, letting a few tears of frustration escape. But my consciousness was still intact. Even if my vocal cords were practically paralyzed, I could hear everything. Saru grabbed the back of my sweatshirt and threw me over his shoulder, before walking back towards the group, as the cement dust fell.

"Most impressive." Commented the Green King. "I never thought she could generate that much power." He said as he looked at what was left of the gigantic pillar.

"Good work on not harming her." Said Yukari, smiling. "Well not too much, at least."

"Whatever. She's gonna be out cold for a while. What do I do with her?"

"Do what with who?" Suddenly asked a masculine voice coming from further in the gigantic room. A voice that sent shivers down my spine. The small group turned around to see the four ARCHITECT clansmen walking towards them.

"Well, well. Looks like you did things behind our back Green King." Said Keiji.

"Yoru!" I heard Lana call out. I felt her touch my face and press two fingers against my jugular. The woman addressed the King. "What did you do to her?"

"Calm down, Lana." Said Mr Iwafune. "She's not wounded just passed out."

"You can take her back to your King when we're done here." Added Nagare. " May I ask where he is?"

"No idea." Replied the gun wielder. "We haven't seen him in a while. He just told us to come assist you, since your bound to encounter some... complications when you release the power of the Slates."

"That is correct. I am most grateful to him. Thank you for your assistance."

"Well, looks like someone is going to have to stay on guard duty for the little cat. Tying her up is useless. I don't mind volunteering."

"You will stay away from her if you don't want me to rip you to shreds." Threatened Lana.

The gun holder shrugged. "No need to be so aggressive. You can have the job. I've been on standby for a month, and I'm dying for some action."

"Incidentally Ms Blanchet, I'd like to have you on the field. You are the most powerful out of the three of you."

"That remains to be seen..."

"Shut up Keiji." Ordered his older brother.

The Green King adressed his youngest clansman."Sukuna, could you keep an eye on Miss Miwa for us?"

"Sure thing, Nagare. But don't keep me out of all the action."

"Of course." Replied the Green King with a smile. "Now, Saruhiko. Please go place the sleeping lady in the room. Then we have work to do."

This was bad. They were probably going to unleash the tremendous power of the Slates. And I was there, helpless and immobile. And I didn't even know where Ryu was or what he was doing. If only I had some way of warning the clans, and Yashiro... I felt Saruhiko walk away from the group and heard another set of feet following him. Probably Sukuna. Once back in their 'HQ room', I felt him lay me down on the ground. I risked opening my eyes a little to see his face.

"Sa..ru..." I mouthed almost inaudibly.

He placed a hand on my eyes and closed my eyelids. Like he didn't want to look me in the eye. I heard him sighed again. I kept them closed, because it wouldn't change anything if I opened them, or it would only warn the others that I was actually awake.

"What are you doing?" Asked Sukuna's voice. "Nagare's waiting for you."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just taking back something that's mine." I then felt him slip hand in my sweatshirt. If I could move, I would've flinched. His hand travelled to my inner chest pocket and he took out the key Yata had given me.

"A key? What does it open?" Asked the young green clansman, curiously.

"None of your business." Saruhiko then got up and I heard his footsteps walk away, as well as Sukuna growling and sitting on the ground. Beep sounds indicated that he was playing on a console or something. But I felt it. The content of my sweat's inner-chest pocket was heavier than before. With something rectangular.

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 **External POV**

Izumo dialed the number of the red female clansman, for the sixteenth time today. And once more it took him directly to voicemail. He sighed and hung up again.

"She hasn't turned her phone back on yet?" Asked Shohei.

"Who can blame her?" Said Yo throwing an angry glare at Yata. The said crow hadn't said a word since being punched yesterday. He was sipping his fourteenth beer can of the hour. But he was staring at nothing and his eyes looked empty. Like those of a dead fish. No one wanted to talk to him, but he himself was practically none responsive. No one had ever seen him like that. What surprised the rest of the red clan was that their King and Mr Kusanagi hadn't said anything to him. Usually, the bartender would have been the first to put him in his place. And the fact that Mikoto hadn't intervened was strange, even for him. To resume the situation, the atmosphere was weird, awkward and bothering. The bartender approached the sulking crow and grabbed the can he was holding from his hands.

"Alright, that's enough drinking for you."

The young vanguard only growled in response but didn't look up. The clan's womanizer shook his head while looking at this pitiful sight. "Dude, I've never seen you look so pathetic."

"Shut up, Chitose." Replied Yata without even raising his voice.

"You should be looking for her, Yata." Said Kosuke.

"You go look for her." Replied the crow.

"You're the one that needs to apologize. She's your girlfriend."

Yo stood up from his seat, tired of his comrades breakdown and annoyed by his sad excuses. "Stop acting like you're the victim here, Yata! Taiga's the one who took the blow, you're the one that threw it."

"He's right. You've got no one to blame but yourself." Added Kosuke.

"I never said I blamed anyone else." Growled Yata.

"But you're not doing anything to fix it either." Said Eric. "That's just as bad."

Kamamoto stepped in as well. "Come on Yata. You should at least try and talk to her."

"SHE DOESN'T WANT TO SEE ME!" Shouted back the crow, before clenching his teeth and shaking with rage. "Now leave me the fuck alone, all of you!"

Bando shook his head before saying."Honestly, I can't even understand what made you say that to her. That fit of jealousy isn't like you."

The crow didn't say anything but threw a quick glance at the Red King and the bartender, that no one noticed.

"Leave him alone, you guys." Finally said Mikoto, lighting another cigaret. That sentence earned him the surprised stares of all is clansmen aside from Yata and Izumo. The two of them were the only ones who knew the weight Yata was carrying and all he was responsible for was letting the pressure of carrying the secret of his King overwhelm him. It was only partly his fault and the Red King knew that well. He didn't need anymore punishment than the fear of facing the one he'd hurt. That was hard enough, especially for him. After a long moment of unbearable silence, the crow finally sighed before letting out.

"I don't know... how to fix it." He clenched his teeth once more and his comrades could have sworn that he was on the verge of tears. But at that exact moment, the door of the bar was violently pushed open. The Black Dog entered with a dark look on is face. The young samurai directly headed towards Yata and stopped next to him. The crow didn't even bother looking up.

"Misaki Yata." Said Kuro to get the young vanguard's attention. Yata growled and looked up... only to feel a fist collide with his face. The blow was so strong that the red clansman was sent right off his seat to crash into the wall, ten meters back. Before he could even understand what had happened, Kuro was standing right in front of him searching his pockets. Yata gave him an angry glare and clenched a fist summoning the red flames.

"You damn dog..."

But before he could get up and attack the samurai, Kuro brought his phone up to his face. Yata looked at it curiously. It was a loaded video.

"Hot guy bringing passed out girlfriend home." Said the crow reading the title of the video out loud. All the other red clansman took out their PDAs to check it out. Kuro pressed play. The video had been filmed last night around one o'clock. The beginning was just a group of friends partying in an apartment. The noises people were making made it obvious that they were drunk. Then the one filming, pointed the camera out the window and called his friends to come see. And casually walking in the streets …. Yukari Mishakuji was carrying a passed out Taiga in his arms. Yata's eyes widened and he froze up completely.

"What the..."

Kuro didn't let him finish that sentence. He put his PDA away and grabbed the crow by the throat, pulled him up to his feet and held him up against the wall with one hand, while the other unsheathed his katana and placed it under the red clansman's throat.

"You were suppose to watch over her!" Said the Black Dog, with a threatening voice. "What did you do to her? Now because of you she's in JUNGLE's clutches and they won't hesitate to give her back to the Purple King! If anything happens to her, it will be all your fault! Give me one good reason not to slaughter you on the spot."

"Kuro, that's enough!" Everyone turned to the door to see the Silver King, and clinging to him, the cat strain girl. "Let him go. Now is not the time to turn on our allies."

Kuro growled in frustration before releasing Yata and sheathing his sword. Mikoto looked at the Silver King. "Are you finished?"

"Yes. I know how we're going to destroy the Slates. But I'm going to need your help. All of you. In order for this to work, I'm going to need the help of all of HOMRA. And I'm not sure what the consequences will be on us Kings and you clansmen." The Silver King bowed to the Red King. Kuro and Neko did the same. "But please, lend me your strength one more time."

Everyone looked at the Red King, who slowly inhaled and exhaled the smoke of his cigaret. "I don't remember calling off the Alliance. As far as I'm concern, your still in charge until we settle the Slates matter, right?"

Shiro smiled and straightened up. "Thank you, Mr Mikoto. I'll be relying on you."

"I have a condition." Added the Red King. "I don't care how important the Slates are, Taiga takes priority."

"Alright." Replied Shiro, agreeing one hundred percent.

The King exhaled smoke out of his lungs once more."What do you need us to do?"

"MIKOTO!" Called out the sweet and panicked voice of HOMRA's youngest clansman. Anna raced down the stairs, and to where her Kings was. "The Slates... I can see them! They're spreading colors!"

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 **Hope you liked it! We get to the real showdown in the next chapter! I bet you can't wait to see the next encounter between Yata and Taiga. And if you like Taiga/Saru moments, you're going to be served!**

 **Chapter 27 should be out in a few days so stay tuned!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**


	28. Chapter 27 : Trial and Betrayal

**Hey guys! Told you I'd be back soon! I enjoyed typing this chapter a lot because it really focuses on our favorite blue clansman, who's been waiting to have the spotlight for a while. ;)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **External POV**

The Blue King was walking down the streets, followed by a one-armed man wearing the SCEPTER 4 uniform. The one who had killed the previous Blue King before he could create another Kagutsu crater. Goki Zenjo. The man who had the duty to slay him, should the Sword of Damocles fall. In the end, there was no need to search for the Slates. The instant Nagare Hisui had released their immense power, a ray of light had shot up to the sky and given away their location. But the Green King was probably aware of that and waiting for them. He, Reisi Munakata had failed. He'd been relieved of his duties by the prime minister after the fiasco of the Mihashira tower. His weismann level was almost at it's limit. The sword of Damocles would crumble soon, that much was certain. He no longer had the right to command his loyal subordinates of SCEPTER 4. But he was still the Blue King. And if he was going down, it was going to be fighting to accomplish his duty to retrieve the Slates and bring order to the world. Besides, even if he failed he was certain that the immortal King would finish it. As his companion was clearing the path of green clansmen, the Blue King kept walking straight towards where the light had come from. The gate was there. The gate leading to the underground hideout of the Green King. All he had to do now was hope that Fushimi will succeed in opening it... while he had to take care of the welcoming committee. The latter consisted of Tenkei Iwafune of JUNGLE and Lana Blanchet of ARCHITECT. Both of them were standing in front of the 'door', waiting for him.

"Mr Zenjo." Said the Blue King addressing his subordinate. "Please take care of the lower green clansmen. I will deal with these two."

"As you wish." Replied the soldier.

"You seem very full of yourself, Munakata." Commented the strain in the priest outfit as he charged his huge gun.

The Blue King chuckled in return and readjusted his glasses. "Do you honestly think that two clansmen have the power to take on a King?"

"That's the problem with you Kings. You think you're invincible." Replied Lana. "We're not idiots, we know that your Weissmann level is this close to exceeding it's limit. Also brain easily surpasses strength when you know how to use it."

After saying those words, the purple clansman summoned her aura and formed a total of eight tentacles around herself. Munakata knew perfectly well that she was going to use all her strength to keep him occupied. Just as he had predicted, the smoke screen of the strain in the priest outfit started spreading all around them. And the two clansmen quickly disappeared from his sight. The Blue King smirked to himself.

"Very well. I guess I have no choice but to fight you. Please do try to make it entertaining." Declared the man in blue, unsheathing his sword. "Munakata, ready."

X

 **Gold King's airship**

"That's how we're going to destroy the Slates. It's the only way we can." Said Yashiro, completing his explanation to the red clan.

"Excuse me, Silver King?" Asked Shohei. "Do you really have no idea what's going to happen to us once the Slates are destroyed?"

"Based on theory, it should stop the power spread and also make all the Kings' powers disappear. I don't know what the side effects will be, but it's the only way to stop the Green King from turning the world into a giant atomic bomb. Knowing that, are you still willing to help us?"

The red clansmen looked at each other, and then at their King before nodding to the Silver King. Anna then started distributing her special marbles to every clansmen. Only one red in particular was standing away from the group. Yata was leaning against a pillar, staring at the sky. He couldn't believe what the Silver King had told him. Apparently, the Blue King had come and seen him to tell him that he had been relieved of his duties by the Prime Minister. He'd also told him that he'd send one of his subordinates on an undercover mission to infiltrate JUNGLE.

'Saruhiko.'

Yata didn't know how to react to the news. On one side he was relieved. Relieved that Taiga wasn't alone in the green clan's claws. Relieved that Saruhiko wasn't a traitor. On the other, he was angry. Angry at himself. For not having listened to her. And selfish for not having ever considered that his best friend left because it wasn't the place for him. Everything she'd said to him the day before... it made so much sense now. Why hadn't he listened? Why did he have to be such a hothead? The crow clenched his teeth, torn between worry and guilt. They had a plan and they had to follow it. But he wanted to be out there, looking for her. For both of them. He wanted to see her, safe and smiling. Like before. He could only pray that the purple bastard hadn't done anything to her. He closed his eyes trying not to imagine how she felt when she saw him again. Probably like a mouse looking at a cat. A hand tapped his shoulder bringing him back to reality. He looked up. Mikoto Suho was standing next to him, with Anna hanging on to his sleeve.

"You okay?" Asked the lazy King.

"...No." Replied the crow after some hesitation. "But no worries! I'll have my head in the game for the plan, Mr Mikoto! You can count on me."

It couldn't have sounded anymore fake to the Red King's ears. "Remember what I told Shiro at the bar? Taiga takes priority. That means she's your first goal Yata."

The red clansman gave his King a confused look. "You think your responsible for this. Not gonna lie, you are partly. So it's up to you to save her. Fushimi too while you're at it. You'll make it in time for the fire up."

The young strain smiled at him. "We have faith in you Misaki. So does Taiga. I know she's waiting for you."

Anna approached him and took his hand to place the marble in it. The crow stared at it for a while before gripping it tightly. "I'll be right there when you need me, Mr Mikoto!"

The Red King gave him a small smile. "Focus on your girl first."

"Everyone hang on to something!" Shouted Kamamoto.

"YEEHAA!" Shouted Neko, laughing hysterically. "HAHAHAHA! We're about to crash land, nya!"

* * *

 **JUNGLE's HQ, Taiga's POV**

I don't know how long I laid on the floor playing dead, but it probably wasn't more than thirty minutes. Little by little, I started feeling my muscles again. I could still hear Sukuna playing on his console, growling from time to time. I was pretty sure I could move normally again. But I needed a way to get out of here. Making a run for it would be suicide. The kid was probably way faster than me. But I couldn't wait forever until he left. How could I get him distracted enough? That's when I heard footsteps and then Yukari's voice.

"Sukuna, is everything alright?"

"She's still out like a light and I'm bored out of my mind."

"That's good because Nagare wants to see you. I think he has a mission for you."

"Really?" Said the kid suddenly sounding overjoyed. "About time! What about her? Are you taking over?"

"Unfortunately, I have my own mission to attend to." Yukari stepped closer to me and I felt him play with my hair a little. "Well, with the charge Saruhiko gave her, she won't wake up in a while. And even if she does, she won't go far with all the clansmen scattered at every level of the base. Kotosaka, you stay and watch her. If she tries to leave, feel free to zap her." I heard the cry of a parrot and a flap of wings. Yukari stood up again and his footsteps started walking away.

"Let's go."

I waited for the door to close and their footsteps to die away. I then opened my eyes slightly. The bird was indeed perched on a small shelf, scratching the inside of his feather with his beak. Yukari said he could zap me. That meant that this parrot could probably use the electrical properties of the green aura. I had to get rid of him somehow. I couldn't touch him directly if he could knock me out like a taser. Using the red aura was too risky, if I missed, he would probably alert the other clansmen. I looked at the distance between me and the shelf he was on. I could make it. I summoned the purple aura with the hand hidden from his sight, waited for him to look away... and suddenly sprang up, touched the wooden furniture and reshaped it into a cupboard, locking the bird inside in the process. I then grabbed the futon that was laying under the couch to throw it over the newly made cupboard, to muffle the sounds of the bird crying and hitting against the wood. I'd managed to do all of that in a few seconds. I pressed my ear against the door to make sure no one had heard me. When I heard nothing, I got away from it and went to the opposite wall. With the purple aura, I made a hole in it, that I closed after I went out. I ran away from the room HQ and took the opposite direction from where I remembered the Slates were, because I knew the Green King and his subordinates were there. I ran until I found a door with no handle. Not even a lock. It was probably opened via aura, and I don't know if the Green King could feel if I used my aura on his, but I didn't have much choice. I was about to use the purple aura again, but then remembered that Saru had put something in my pocket. I grabbed it... and froze in astonishment. There wasn't one but two objects in it. The first was one of Saru's throwing knives. The second one was his PDA. The same one I'd tried to steal. I felt a smile stretch across my face and my eyes water a little. I was relieved, so much that I wanted to cry. I was right. I'd been right all along. But I didn't have time for that. I had to find him now and get us out of here. I looked through his JUNGLE app until I found the unlock door option that I pressed. Thankfully, the door opened and led to a staircase going up. I started running up, while searching for a plan of the facility. But when I reached mid-way up, I froze when a green clansman wearing an electronic helmet saw me as he was coming down.

"Hey, what are you doing down there? Who are you?"

I turned my ankle to hide the HOMRA insignia and gave him a reproachful look. "I should be asking you that." I presented him the screen, showing off the J-Rank level. "U-Rank and lower are forbidden to go any further. You haven't forgotten have you?"

He seemed distressed. "You're a J-Rank? I-I'm sorry I didn't know. I've never seen you on the list."

"I arrived recently." I lied. "Do your job and stay away from here."

"Yes ma'am. I'm sorry." He said as he turned back and started heading back upstairs.

"Wait!" I called out. He stopped and turned around. "Have you by any chance seen the J-rank Fushimi around? I'm looking for him." Now that I thought about it, what if Saru was still down there with the Green King and the other J-Ranks.

"Yes, ma'am. He went to the security room."

Bingo. "Thank you. You can go."

His PDA suddenly beeped and he took it out of his pocket. _"Mission reminder : do not harm in any way the Special Player. Violating that rule will result in the loss of the totality of your JUNGLE points."_ Said the electronic voice.

Shoot! The green clansman looked at his pone curiously. "Why is it warning me now? Hold up, are you actually..."

He was about to press something on his PDA (probably an alert button) but I threw Saru's knife at the device, making fly out of his hand. I didn't let him react and closed the distance between us in half a second before summoning the red aura on my foot. I swung my leg in the air and smashed is head against the wall, instantly making him pass out. The guy fell at my feet, unconscious. I picked up the knife and ran up the stairs while still looking for a map on Saru's JUNGLE app. I finally found it. The facility was actually gigantic and running deep in the undergrounds. It seemed to be leading to tons of different exits throughout the entire city. How we never even caught wind of this was what was worrying me. 'How can you hide in such a big place and not be noticed?' The security room was on the second deepest level. In other words, on the floor I was on now. I followed the map while carefully avoiding the green clansman that were patrolling around. It would be better if I didn't start a ruckus down here. As I made my way to the security room, I was trying to remember the numbers of my comrades. To my frustration, I didn't. That's what happens when you rely only on your phone's contact memory. So I looked through Saru's contacts. All had been erased, except for two numbers, saved under the following names : Idiot 1 and Idiot 2. The second one was my number. So I directly assumed that the first one was Yata. I tried calling but somehow the signal was not passing here. I cursed under my breath and kept making my way to that room. Once I finally reached that door, I found the option again and pressed it. The door opened, but a hand grabbed me from behind. I turned around to see three green clansmen wearing the same helmets.

"Hey, I know you. You're the S.P.!"

I grabbed his wrist and twisted it so much he fell to his knees, crying out in pain. But another one grabbed me around the neck from behind making me drop the first one. But I managed to kick in the face the third one that was approaching me with his PDA, to use it as a taser probably. But the one holding me had an iron grip. I set myself on fire and he had no choice but to let me go to avoid getting scorched. I turned around and hit him in the gut with my elbow, making him pass out. I was about to turn around, to focus on the last one but he was already on me, one feet away from using his taser PDA on my back. But a knife planted itself in his arm, making him grunt in pain and drop his phone. A hand then grabbed him around the neck and I saw the green lightening bolts attack his body until he passed out. Before I could completely turn around, the hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me inside the security room. Even in the dark, I knew it was Saru. The young man grabbed the PDA from my hands and quickly pressed the options CLOSE and LOCK. The electrical door shut behind us. In this room, screens were showing the footages of security cameras in the streets of Shizume. But my attention was on Saru. The clansman was looking at me with an definitely angry glare and all I could do was stare back. When nothing happened, I opened my mouth to say something but instead, received the biggest (and probably the only) slap of my life. I felt my cheek heat up like crazy, and gave him a surprised look.

"What was... that for?" I asked confused.

"For looking for me instead of getting out of here, idiot."

I was pretty sure I wasn't a masochist, but that somehow felt good. Because I knew he was worried. I felt my tears return to my eyes and punched him on the cheek. "That's for not telling us anything and making your best friend give up on you."

"Tch." Was all that he replied as he rubbed his aching cheek. "You punch like a girl."

Not able to contain it anymore, I let the tears out and hugged him as tight as I could. I felt him tense up a little, before he placed a hand on my head. "And you're an ass." I muttered.

"Yeah, yeah. Let go, I still have work to do."

I let him go. He went back to sit in front of all the screens and plugged his PDA to a bunch of wires. "At least it'll be faster like this."

I approached his seat and looked at him work. "So... was this a mission for Mr Munakata or did you decide on your own?"

"Mission." Simply replied the blue clansman.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Top secret means something, you know. Why? Did Misaki do something stupid again?"

"Yes. Yes he did." I looked down remembering the reaction of the crow.

The blue clansman looked at me a couple seconds before turning back to his PDA and entering some complicated codes. I looked at the screens. One of them showed a street that was filled with a smoke screen that was way too familiar. It was Tenkei Iwafune's. And if the smoke screen was active then that meant he was fighting. I could also discern shades of blue and purple in the smoke.

"Is that Mr Munakata?" I asked a little too loudly.

"Shh. You're too loud. Yeah, he's fighting the priest strain and the crazy chick from ARCHITECT. The twins are on standby somewhere. But now that they've released the power of the Slates, it's only a matter of time before your King and the Silver King show up. I have to get this door opened."

So everyone was on their way. That made me smile. Kuro was right, we'd lost nothing yet. I thought of the situation we were in. Yashiro would probably confront the Green King himself, this time. The problem was still Ryu. Even his own clansmen didn't know where he was. Anticipating his moves was almost impossible. But I'm guessing the Silver King had thought of that as well. All we could do was open the door for them and get out as soon as we could. I looked at Saru again. It was somehow hard to believe that I'd been right about him. I was so glad but something still bothered me.

"Saru, for real why didn't you tell us? And if you say top secret, I will hit you again."

He growled knowing that I wasn't going to let it go. "Do you really think an idiot like Misaki would've listened?"

I smiled sadly. "Probably not. Stupid hothead."

Saru looked at me again while something was loading up on his PDA. "What'd he do?"

"He … gave up on you. He was pissed. I've never seen him like that. It was scary."

I could tell from his stare that he knew there was more to it than that, but he said nothing and focused on his PDA that beeped. It looked like he had finally entered the system. Now all he had to do was open the door. He was about to press the button when...

"Hello Saruhiko. You sure work fast. I'm impressed." Said the Green King's voice right behind us.

I nearly jumped out of my skin and turned around. The green parrot had somehow entered the room and was perched on top of shelf. 'How in the world did he get out of that cupboard?'

"I know what you're trying to do. You wish to invite the Blue King in." Had he known the whole time that Saru was a double agent?

"Then you should hurry up and kill me." Replied the blue clansman.

"There's no need to. There's no real reason to either. As long as you don't open those gates, you will not be considered a traitor."

"So the second I open the gates, I'll be disposed of as a traitor, right?"

"You understand quickly, that saves time. The Blue King will never reach this level. You'd die a worthless death. A dog's death."

I set my body on fire and threw a death glare at the bird. "Come on and try!" I threatened.

"It seems that you care a lot about him Miss Miwa. Very touching indeed. I'm offering you a chance to be one of us for real, Saruhiko. You were not meant for HOMRA or SCEPTER 4. You're best suited for JUNGLE, which honors free will."

"What gives you the right to decide that?!" I shouted. "You don't know anything about him!"

"And you do Miss Miwa?"

"At least I know he doesn't belong with selfish people like you who plan to jeopardize the balance of the world and turn it into complete chaos." I said.

"He is a smart young man. He knows that this fight is already lost on your side. Both of your Kings are on the verge of disappearing. They will not last long in this battle, especially against two fully powered Kings."

"What... are you talking about?" I asked, confused. Why was he suddenly mentioning our Kings?

"It seems your dear friend, Ome Shiranui didn't tell you. Before her unfortunate accident during our Christmas Eve encounter, the dear Doctor was keeping a close eye on both Kings by constantly checking their weissmann levels. They were very high even before the mission. The datas now suggest that the Blue King is not hours away from his downfall."

My mouth hung open as I stared at the parrot. Mr Munakata and Mr Mikoto's swords of Damocles were cracked to the limit? Both of them were slowly dying? I brought my hand to my mouth in realization. The weird phone call, the over the top nervousness, the break down...

"Oh my god. Yata knew. He knew..."

"You see Saruhiko." Said the bird addressing the blue clansman again. "There is no more that your side can bring you."

I heard a 'cling' and turned around. Saru had dropped the knife he had taken out when the bird first spoke. "It's true. If I stay here, I won't have to deal with idiots, or be forced to obey a superior's reckless orders."

"Saru?" I asked, giving him a surprised look. What was he on about? I didn't like not knowing.

"Affirmative." Replied Nagare Hisui's voice.

"But what else could you give me? You expect me to be content with just freedom of speech?"

"Anything you want, I'm certain we can help you obtain it. Your desires are also considered here, in JUNGLE."

"Then can you give her to me?" He asked pointing at me. I froze up. What was in the world was he thinking? How was I suppose to react?

"I'm afraid that's out of my hands. The Purple King has claimed her already. Fighting him for her would be a loosing fight for you."

"Then my answer is obvious." Saru pressed the UNLOCK option to open the gates. He then turned back to the bird and smirked. "No thanks. I'll be damned if I give her to people like you."

"That's unfortunate." The bird suddenly started flying away, screaming. "You're dead! Dead! Dead!"

Preparing for what was to come I summoned the red aura on my hand and inhaled it as much as I could. A second after that Saru unplugged his PDA and put it back in his pocket before standing up. That's when the door opened. Sukuna was standing in the frame, smirking evilly.

"Looks like we're not comrades anymore. Then I guess I can kill you now, right?" Said the boy while the green aura formed the blades of his scythe. Before he could throw himself on Saru, I took a step forward, inhaled as much air as I could before breathing the biggest, hottest, most destructive flame I ever had towards the green clansman who had no choice but to jump very far back to avoid the burn. The entrance was swarmed by the flames of the red aura. No way was anyone getting through that until they died out. I grabbed Saru's wrist.

"This way!"

I summoned Ryu's aura this time, and touched the wall, making a hole in it. Both of us went through and ended up in a hallway. This time, it was Saru's turn to grab my wrist and run in one direction. On the way, we encountered some green clansman, but we had no trouble dealing with them.

"Saru!" I asked as we ran. "You knew didn't you? About our Kings... I'm sure Ome told you."

"It's not really the time for chit-chat." He replied without turning around. "What if she did? It wasn't my job to tell you."

"How can this be happening now?" I muttered. Our Kings would surely put all their efforts into this fight. Were they going to push themselves until...until the end? My thoughts were interrupted by an image of the wall exploding next to us and the debris hitting Saru in the head.

"WATCH OUT!" I shouted, grabbing his jacket and holding him back, half a second before Sukuna's scythe made the wall explode from the other side. The boy entered the same room as us and blocked our way.

"Where do you think you're going?" Said the young clansman, smiling evilly. "We're not done playing. And it's kind of cheating if you help him, Miss."

That little brat was scary as hell... Saru stepped in front of me and took out a bunch of throwing knives. "Get out of here." He ordered me.

"And leave you here with the psycho kid? No thanks." I replied summoning Mr Mikoto's aura.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Why do you always have to be so stubborn?"

"Look who's talking." I retorted keeping my eyes on the boy. "I left you behind once to fight on your own because I wasn't strong enough. Time for payback."

I kicked the wall as hard as I could and made cement dust fly everywhere. Saru immediately tossed his knives at the boy, but the green clansman easily deflected them by spinning his scythe. While he was busy deflecting, I hit the ground with the purple aura. The concrete changed shape quickly to create some sort of cocoon around the young clansman. But with agile movements and elegant slice of his weapon, it crumbled.

"You're gonna have to do better than that Miss." Said the kid, obviously delighted by my jumping in.

He moved faster than my eye could follow and hit Saru in the stomach with the end of his scythe, cutting the blue clansman's breath and knocking him down to the ground. I was about to throw myself on him, but the second I took a step, my head started spinning awfully and I fell to my knees.

"Using two auras at the time is kind of draining Miss." Said the boy. "You should should take a break and restore your energy bar."

Saru took advantage of the fact that he was looking at me to toss him another knife, but Sukuna sent it back with a flick of his staff and the knife hit Saru in the leg. He grunted in pain.

"Saru!" I shouted.

"You should just give up. Even if the two of you fight against me, you can't beat me."

"You really are an idiot aren't you, you game brain brat? Life doesn't work like a game. Sometimes you have to fight even if you know you can't win!" Said the blue clansman which surprised me. "Why did I even agreed to this job in the first place? This reality sucks."

"Don't worry. I'm about to send you away from it!" Declared Sukuna, while raising his scythe in the air and spinning the weapon. I didn't need a vision to know what was going to happen. I forced the red aura to my feet and threw myself in front of the blue clansman, just before the boy sliced the air with his weapon. I pushed Saru out of the way practically landing on top of him. But not before I felt the bite of the blade on the back of my shoulder. I screamed in pain. I could feel the warm and thick liquid stain my sleeves. I threw a murderous glare at the boy.

"You're not gonna give up are you Miss?" He asked before sighing.

"You little shit." Cursed Saru, with a threatening voice. "You're not suppose to injure her."

"It's not my fault if she got in the way. If you don't want her involvedy then get up and fight, traitor!" Declared the kid, getting on guard again.

"SARUHIKO! You bastard, where are you? Hey Monkey!" Suddenly shouted a familiar voice that was getting closer. "I know you're here somewhere!"

"Misaki?"

"Yata!" I exclaimed.

"I can't believe it. The idiot really came after us."

I feeling of intense relief and happiness squeezed my heart. "Why wouldn't he?" I said smiling as forced myself to not let the tears out. "He came to save his best friend."

The wall exploded and HOMRA's skateboarding captain swung his extendable staff in the air, until if collided with Sukuna's stomach and sent the green clansman flying back into the wall on the other side of the room. The red clansman stood in front of us.

"Saru, you bastard!" He scolded, turning around. "I know I'm an idiot and all, but you should have said something, you stupid Monkey!"

The blue clansman sighed. "You wouldn't have listened and you know it."

I got off him, trying to ignore the pain in my shoulder, and Saru helped me up. His hurt leg did seem to bother him a lot. I turned to Yata. Our eyes briefly met and I quickly looked away. Now wasn't the time to deal with our personal problems. Saying something now wouldn't help anyone.

"Taiga..." Still let out the red clansman, but before he could begin his sentence, Sukuna was already back on his feet and ready to attack.

"So you're switching players? Fine by me."

"Misaki, can you keep him busy on your own for three minutes?" Asked the blue clansman.

"Who d'you think I am Monkey? I can make it five!" Proudly declared the red clansman. "Get her out of here."

"Hold on a minute..." I protested.

"Taiga!" Interrupted Yata without even looking back. "When this is all over... there's something I have to tell you. Don't let that freak get his hands on you again!"

"Yata..."

"GO NOW SARU!" Yelled the crow before charging the kid.

Before I could object, Saru grabbed my wrist and we exited the room by the way Yata came in. Despite being wounded, the blue clansman was easily dragging me behind him, until we reached a corridor. Suddenly, part of the wall behind suddenly glowed green and a blond girl wearing some sort of ninja uniform came through. I recognized her. She was the JUNGLE U-Rank that Saru had captured a month ago. I'd thought that she was still in SCEPTER 4 custody until now. I got on guard but she addressed Saru.

"Mr Fushimi, I've secured an exit."

"Good. This saves time." Replied Saru. He pushed me towards her. "Get her back to HOMRA on the surface, then your job is done."

"Very well." Replied the ninja girl, very seriously.

Saru turned back and was about to head back to where Yata was. I grabbed his arm. "Wait a second! I'm not gonna leave the two of you here fighting alone!"

"You've done enough." Coldly replied the blue clansman, giving me an angry glare. "Meet up with your King and stay close to him. If the Purple King shows up, that's the safest place for you."

"I don't want to be safe, I want to help!" I shouted. "Even if it's just serving as a shield!"

He clicked his tongue, clearly exasperated by my stubbornness. I thought I saw him shake. "You idiot." He muttered. "You're the worst fucking shield in the world."

 _'When you shield us, it's the heart that take the blow.'_

He suddenly turned around, facing him. "You can't even help yourself, so stop being so damn stubborn." His voice was low, angry and threatening.

"Why is it so wrong for me to..."

I didn't get the chance to finish that sentence. The blue clansman grabbed me by the collar, and yanked me towards me, closing the gap between out lips. My eyes widened in shock and I froze up completely. My mind went blank, and I found myself completely unable to think. What was happening? I could almost taste frustration and sadness in this kiss. I didn't even realize that he'd let me go.

"I have another idiot to go deal with. Do what you're told and avoid being taken hostage again."

He brutally pushed me back and the ninja girl grabbed me by the shoulder from behind, making both of us go through the wall.

"SARU!" I shouted as I went through.

I fell on my butt on a metallic ground. I looked around and saw that we were in an elevator. The green clansman (or ex-green clansman I guess) pressed the top floor button and we started going up, leaving my comrades behind.

* * *

 **Cliffhanger! Sorry, couldn't help myself. Anyways, hope you liked it and that it got you pumped for the big showdown. ;) Next chapter, returns the one we've all missed so much and that loves our dear Taiga so much! See you next time.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**


	29. NOT A CHAPTER!

**Hey you guys! It's been a while. I haven't had much time to write because I'm in the middle of an exhausting internship but I promise, chapter 28 will be out in a couple of days! Cross my heart!**

 **Here's the reason for this message : I'd like to ask you all a favor. I have a pole question that you'll find on my profile page. And I'd like all of you my dear followers to vote on it! It's just to see which one of my OCs you liked the most!**

 **Anyways, if you an do that for me, I'll be eternally grateful! Thank you! And I promise I'll be quick with the next chapter. (It'll blow you away!) ;)**


	30. Chapter 28 : Crowns and Countdowns

**Hey guys! I'm back! So sorry for having left for so long (about a month now?). But My internship is finally over, so here you go! A chapter where sparks are flying and some of our beloved secondary characters get some well deserved moments and also the return of you-know-who!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **WARNING : Important message at the end! Pay attention!**

* * *

It took me a while to gather my thoughts as the elevator was going up. I stood up and turned to the ninja girl. "You're Douhan Hirasaka, right? Why are you helping us?"

"I'm a professional. I work for whoever pays me. It turns out that the Blue King is quite generous." She said with a flat voice.

I grabbed her by the shoulders. "Take me back down there! I'll pay you!"

She gave me a surprised look before answering. "I strongly suggest you don't. You'd only be a hindrance to Mr Fushimi and your companion. Are they not your comrades? Why don't you trust them?"

I frowned. "That's weird coming from someone who betrayed her comrades for money."

"They were never my comrades. Only child minded people who think life is a game. The Green King sought me, not the other way around." She explained her voice as flat as ever. I took a deep breath and thought about the situation. The guys had gone through the trouble of getting me out of there and I had accomplished what I wanted : finding Saru and making sure the Tea Table Alliance knew where the Slates were located. Now what? Hirasaka was just going to take me to Mr Mikoto and I'd spend the rest of the battle hiding behind my King? My dying King... I don't know what Shiro's plan was for dealing with the Slates, but if somehow I could find a way to cut of the flow of power connecting them to the Kings. Just like Ryu did with me. But getting him to help me was a dead plan. I know what he'd ask for in return and I was not giving that to him. But if I could reach the Slates and figure out how they worked exactly... I turned to the ninja girl again.

"Ms Hirasaka, please take me down to the last level. I promise I'll find a way to pay you more than you received from the Blue King."

"My orders are to bring you to your King."

"Please, I'm begging you. This battle won't be over until we do something about the Slates and I might have an idea."

She sighed. "Mr Fushimi will probably murder me, when he finds out. You better be prepared to pay extras for that risk."

"As much as you want." I said, while kissing goodbye to my savings to buy my own place. 'If I come out alive of this, I still have Yata's place... I guess.

She touched the button board and green electrical charges reversed the system and the elevator brutally stopped before heading down. The ninja woman sighed again.

"I'm going to regret this."

* * *

 **External POV**

Mikoto Suho was standing on the edge of the open trap leading down to JUNGLE's hideout. Anna was standing next to him, holding on to his jacket and staring down at the hole where her comrades had disappeared. For once the Red King didn't have a cigaret in his mouth. His eyes were either on the bottom of the hole in the ground or on the big smoke screen not far from them. He could see sparks of blue and purple from time to time, but no sound. This cursed smoke really did disrupt all the senses. Munakata was in there, fighting two powerful opponents. The blue sword of Damocles's cracks were more and more visible. That much Mikoto could see. He wanted to go help, but he had his own job to fulfill. Besides Munakata could take care of himself. In the end, that guy's stubbornness equaled if not surpassed his own. Especially when it came down to being down right righteous and order bullshit. The guy really was a killjoy. But a hindrance the Red King had gotten used to. The Red King thought about igniting his power to see how damaged his own Sword was. Probably pretty close to Munakata's. Then he heard people screaming. He looked up and saw the Green clansmen being sent flying by Blue clansmen. He recognized the strict Lieutenant's voice giving orders to her men to assist their King. Mikoto's shoulders relaxed and he took a cigaret out of his pack and lit it.

"Mikoto?" Asked Anna with her usual quiet voice and still staring at the hole.

"Hm?"

"Do you think... Taiga is alright?"

Was the kid alright? He wondered himself. The purple bastard hadn't shown his face yet, even though one of his clansmen was here fighting. He couldn't be far. Although, logically if the Green King was guarding the Slates, then he should have been the welcoming committee. In any case, if he was down there, it was likely that he had Taiga. And the girl was far from defenseless. Even though her fighting still sucked compared to Yata, she was clever. She'd find a way to stay fine. And Fushimi hadn't deserted the blues in the end. So he would probably do something to keep her safe. The Red King closed his eyes for a second, meditating on these thoughts.

"Mikoto?"

"We'll get her back." Assured Mikoto with his usual bored voice.

"Yeah, I wouldn't count on that, Red King." Said a voice.

Mikoto and Anna both looked to the side. A few meters from them, were standing the Inukai twins. Keiji had his gun ready and was smirking creepily, resembling his King. Akihiko unsheathed his sword. The older twin, on the other hand, was wearing his ever serious expression. The gun wielder continued.

"The boss will be here soon, and unlike you, he only has one objective. Getting the little cat back."

Anna frowned at them. "Misaki will find her first." Snapped the young strain with her quiet voice.

"We'll see about that, sweetie." Replied the younger twin, grinning. "How about we focus on our fight, Red King?"

"You really think you stand a chance against me?"

"Yeah pretty much. The Green King's been keeping tabs on your Weissmann Levels now that the doc is out of it. The next time you summon the sword... will be your last."

Mikoto frowned. These punks weren't wrong. He needed whatever was left of his power for Shiro's plan and get rid of JUNGLE once and for all. If he fought here, then there was no guarantee he'd be in place in time. If he lost control during that fight, he would scorch the entire place and a lot more.

'Man, that's why I don't do thinking. Hurts my head.'

But then Anna stepped in front of him and spread her arms while throwing an angry and determined glare at the twins. Without taking her eyes of them, she addressed her King. "Mikoto, you focus on Yashiro's plan. I won't let these two pass."

"Anna..." He said, surprised and wanting to stop her.

"I'm also a member of HOMRA." She declared proudly, addressing the twins this time. "I love this red. It's brought all of us together with Mikoto, Izumo, Rikio, Yo, Misaki and Taiga... I share it with all of them. Mikoto's red is our precious bond. So, with it I will protect everyone. If you try to extinguish our red... I will never forgive you."

A circle of crimson flames surrounded her and Mikoto, making a barrier of fire. It wasn't as impressive as the flames the other HOMRA members could produce, not even close. But coming from Anna, that was the surprising part. The Red King recognized Taiga in her stubbornness. "I will not loose." She added.

Keiji whistled. "How about that? Even the shrimp's gutsy. Looks like you caught the little cat's stubbornness. Well, I'll be sure to tell her how brave you were."

The mercenary raised his gun and shot a bullet towards the girl. Anna didn't blink and the second the bullet touched the fire barrier, it melted instantly. For the first time, the gun wielder was taken aback. This little girl, who looked like a porcelain doll so easy to break... her mental strength powered by her feelings of love for HOMRA and her friends had created a fire so intense and hot that not even a speeding bullet could go through without melting away. She wasn't an ordinary brat. She was a dangerous adversary. Just who was she?

"Our weapons won't work Keiji." Said Akihiko, sheathing his blades back.

"Upping our game against a kid? Tch. Annoying." Mumbled the youngest while putting his gun back in his holster.

Suddenly, the purple fog appeared and danced around the twins. This time Mikoto took a step closer to Anna. With their power of misshape, they could modify even the ground they were standing on. Anna wouldn't be able to handle this alone. 'So much for the plan.' The Red King's eyes suddenly had a fire burning in them. Keiji was about to place his hand on his brother's shoulder, but his arm suddenly yanked away, making him back up a few steps. The purple fog disappeared as the two brothers looked at each other confused.

"What just happened?" Asked the younger one.

"Didn't you do that?"

"No."

His head was suddenly thrown back and again, he took a few steps back and brought his hand to his chin. A big bruise appeared on it. Like someone had hit him. "What the..." He was pushed back some more and held his stomach, grunting in pain and falling to his knees.

"Keiji!" Called out his brother, as he ran to his side. He took out one of his swords and swung it in the air a couple times in front of his brother. "Be careful. It's..."

Akihiko suddenly felt a strong blow in the back and fell to his knees next to his brother. Before either of them could react, claws sunk into the back of their necks. "Phew! Looks like I made it just in time. That was close, it took everything I had to keep myself invisible." Said a familiar voice behind them, as a body and face appeared out of thin air.

"Ome Shiranui..." Cursed the oldest, gritting his teeth.

"What? You weren't expecting me? I'm offended." She said sarcastically, before leaning in closer to whisper in the eldest's ear. "Consider this payback for the stabbing."

The twins tensed up as they felt their bodies being drained of aura. The doctor strain absorbed every last bit available, her own grey aura flashing purple from time to time. When she finally released them, the two mercenaries fell to the ground unconscious. Anna and Mikoto stared in disbelief. The strain was still wearing her hospital clothes. She walked towards them while stretching her arms.

"Ahh, I feel a thousand times better now that I'm charged up."

Anna turned off her aura. "Ome..." She let out in disbelief.

"Aren't you suppose to be in a coma?" Asked the Red King, sounding as bored as ever but relieved.

"I woke up and got bored, so I decided to drop by and see what you guys were up to. Apparently, you haven't been doing too great without me. We'll chat later, Red King." Said the doctor. "For now, wait for Shiro's signal. These two won't wake up for any time soon. And I 'm pretty sure a friend of mine is doing something stupid right now."

A small smile appeared at the corner of the Red King's lips. "Sorry to keep you." He said with his usual low and warm voice.

The doctor strain gave the Red King a sweet smile before moving. With incredible speed acquired by the power up, the strain dashed towards the entrance of JUNGLE's HQ and disappeared underground.

* * *

 **JUNGLE HQ, lower levels**

" _That's as far as I'm going." Said the ninja girl as the elevator doors opened._

" _I understand. Thank you, Miss Hirasaka."_

I raced down the hallway to find the staircase that lead to the last floor. I encountered a few green clansmen on the way, but easily took them out and got passed them. I dashed down the stairs to the last floor. The very same I'd tried to get away from less than an hour ago. When I entered the giant room with pillars, I ran towards where I knew the Slates were.

"How brave of you to come back down here, Yoruichi. Or should I say stupid?"

I came to an abrupt stop and looked up. Sitting on one of the pillars, with Kotosaka on his shoulder, Yukari was smiling down at me. I summoned the flames and got to a fighting stance. But the swordsman didn't move.

"I don't know what you're hoping to accomplish here, but it won't work. From this point on, this will be a showdown between Kings. There's nothing you can do about that."

"That's for me to decide." I said.

"That stubbornness of yours will never cease to amaze me. Well, I won't stop you. I'm waiting for someone."

"Someone?"

"You don't think the Silver King will come down here alone, do you? I've been waiting a long time for this fight with my beloved Kuro. Only this time... one of us will die."

I froze. He was serious. But I didn't have time to think about that. Kuro wouldn't be alone. Neko would probably be with him. But that didn't stop me from being worried for my 'brother'. "If you hurt him..." I started, but the man jumped off his pillar and landed right in front of me and leaned in closer until his face was an inch away from mine.

"... then he'll have to surpass me to survive now, won't he?"

I stared at him, frustrated and uncertain. Could Kuro really beat this guy? Yukari smirked at the face I was making before straightening up. "Do try to stay alive, Yoruichi. It'd be a shame to have you disappear so pointlessly."

With a sign of the head, he told me to go on. I took a few steps forward while keeping my eyes on him, before running towards the room where the Slates were. I had to believe in Kuro, otherwise I'd be useless. I finally found and entered the room. To my surprise, the Green King was not here. In the middle of that huge room, the Dresden Slates were glowing. I didn't realize that I'd walked closer to them. Like a butterfly attracted by light.

'What now? I came down here thinking I could do something... but what? No way am I strong enough of to carry this huge stone by myself, much less hide it. Cutting the power flow like Ryu does probably requires a lot of power that I don't have. Hold up... this is the source of the King's powers. Maybe if I touch it, I can power up and try shrinking it. The Slates are technically still a material object.'

I brought my hand to the big stone and touched it. Only, I wasn't expecting what was happening. I shut my eyes as my mind was being invaded by by colorful images. I could see a city... or what used to be one after a nuclear bomb. Everything was destroyed, flames were devouring what was left.

"What in the world...is going on?"

On the ground, corpses were still, bathing in pools of their own blood. Their faces were unrecognizable, as if their flesh had melted off halfway. But some were wearing torn blue uniforms. Broken swords were laying around as well. Others had more casual clothes. A corpse, smaller than the others had on it whatever was left of gothic loli dress and red marbles held in what was left of the hand. Another had broken shades on the face and a lighter, also in his hand. Another one had a broken skateboard next to him and a staff also broken a few feet away. My heartbeat accelerated drastically and I stared at the dead corpses of my friends. I looked around and screamed for help. Until I saw someone wearing a long white coat next to me.

"Yashiro? Yashiro! What happened here? I don't understand. Why is everything..."

"I failed again." He said, as if he was talking to himself. Not even looking at me. Tears were falling out of his eyes. "Why? Why am I always the last one standing? Is this my punishment for my sins, sis? Is it my curse to be forever alone, reflecting on my failures?"

He dropped his umbrella and brought his hand up to cover his eyes. He started sobbing. "Kuro. Neko. My dearest friends... forgive me."

"Yashiro..."

He looked up to the sky and I did the same. A single Sword of Damocles was floating in the sky. Intact and shining. The Silver king's emblem. The symbol of the immortal King. I looked around again and found something else. A crater. And in the middle of it... a broken SCEPTER 4 sword. As well as a small silver earring that I knew my King never took off. Just when I was about to scream, I felt a hand on my shoulders. I found myself back in the Slates room, with a heavy breath and sweat dripping down my face. And when I saw who was touching my shoulder, I thought my heart would stop. Nagare Hisui stood back up. His power was activated, as he was standing and his body seemed to be completely white with green bolts dancing around him. His heterochromatic eyes were staring at me with the same neutral stare as before.

"It seems that the Slates have helped you power up your father's gift. You must have seen something unpleasant in the near future."

I quickly stood up and backed away from the Green King. "How could you tell?"

"It's not that difficult to tell what will happen soon Miss Miwa. Both the Red and Blue King are at their limit. If they use their powers again, their Swords will fall and destroy the entire city. Which is why they should be killed. They know that very well."

I wanted to shout at him that he was wrong, but he wasn't. I clenched my teeth and stood there shaking like a leaf, brainstorming. 'What can I do?'

"It's pointless overthinking this." Continued the Green King as if he could read my mind. "There's nothing you can do, Miss Miwa. You're not strong enough to change what is going to happen. You should let the major players finish this."

No. No! I was not sitting on the sidelines again. There had to be something I could do. Those Slates... if they were what gave the power to the Kings, then they were the reason why they died as well. Mr Mikoto and Mr Munakata were running out of time. I had to give this a shot. I threw a death glare at the Green King.

"Do you know what the power of the purple aura is?" I asked.

"The power of misshape? Yes, it's quite fascinating I must say. Giving any material the shape you want is very interesting."

"Misshaping an object doesn't only mean changing the shape. It also means destroying it's former shape. Which is exactly what I'm going to do to this thing!"

I saw his eyes twitch a second. 'God please, work!' I summoned the purple fog and hit both my hands on the stone of the Slates. I felt some kind of powerful vibration traveling from my body to the Slates. More energy was circulating around in my body, resonating with the power of the Dresden Slates. I clenched my teeth and released the red aura as well. I gave every single bit of aura I had... until a small crack finally appeared on the Slates.

"STOP!" Shouted the Green King, extending his arm towards me.

I suddenly felt hit in the stomach by one of the green lightening bolts. It sent me flying until my back hit the concrete. I tried pushing myself up and my head started spinning. My stomach felt like I'd been badly burned.

"That was foolish of you. Destroying the Slates like that can only cause the power to escape it faster. You are not strong enough." He stated, having regained his usual calm demeanor.

It worked. I used Ryu's psychic power. Now Nagare Hisui really believed that the purple aura had the power to destroy the Slates. But I was so exhausted there was no way I could make another crack like that, let alone destroy the whole thing. The only one that could do it now... was Ryu.

"You...you say you want to give everyone the power of Kings so that everyone gets a chance to defend themselves and live well in this cruel world...right?"

"That's right."

"That won't work. You're thinking like a child. Even if everyone has the same powers, some will be better at using it. Some will be smarter than others. That's the reality of it."

"It will put everyone on equal ground. That is all I am after."

This time I shouted. "I'm telling you, you're wrong! When someone's weaker than someone else, they rely on support from their family and friends. That's what makes us human and compassionate. Your selfish plan will destroy that link!"

"Silence." Said the Green King frowning.

"If you can't understand that, then you know nothing!" I continued. It was my way of letting out this anger against him and myself, for not being able to do anything more. "If you can't rely on anyone ever. How can you understand relationships? How can you understand feelings and empathy towards others? You don't seem to have any at all!"

"Be quiet!" He said louder this time.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING ABOUT HUMANS, YOU MONSTER!"

"I told you to SHUT UP!"

Half a second later, I was struck in the shoulder and was thrown against the wall. I grunted in pain. I'm pretty sure my other shoulder almost got dislocated from the impact. Hitting my head again made more blood drip from my forehead.

"I don't understand humans? I'm the monster?! I know better than anyone human pain! Someone like you that's never been exposed to this world's cruelty couldn't possibly understand what I've been through. No one should ever go through that. That's why power is needed."

"You're wrong, Mr Hisui." I grunted from the pain. "And I know cruelty better than you think. I'm sorry for what happened to you in the past... but your actions prove that you didn't learn anything from it. You treat the world like a playground and life like a damn energy bar. You delude yourself into thinking you know better than anyone else, without listening to others. Did you even see the chaos you created outside? All these people panicking because they received powers they can't control? You're no King. You're a brat."

He stared at me for a while, while I breathed heavily. For the first time, he was visibly angry. Not the kind of anger Yata or the other guys expressed. It was cold. Then a smirk appeared at the corner of his lips. "Right now, you are in a situation where you wish you had power don't you, Miss Miwa? You wish you were strong enough to break the Slates and save your King."

"..." I couldn't argue with that. I just looked at him with determination.

His smile disappeared at my lack of response. "It seems you're the one who failed to learn from cruelty. Allow me to teach you, you ignorant girl."

This time when he extended his arm, and shot more green aura at me, my body was attacked by electric shock. I screamed in pain, as he kept it going for a good five seconds. When it stopped, I fell to the side and curled up as my body aching all over. I clenched my teeth and felt tears escape my eyes. Electrocution really hurt like hell. I threw the Green King a hateful look.

"You even resort to childish ways to get what you want. How can it be any clearer?"

He clenched his teeth. "SHUT UP!" He shouted as his arm shot lightning again.

I shut my eyes waiting for the pain of the next bolt that seemed to be a lot bigger than all the others. It hit but not me. I opened my eyes when I heard a painful familiar scream. My eyes shot open and I pushed myself up. My mouth dropped open. HOMRA's skateboarding captain was leaning against the wall, and had shielded me from the last blow. Sweat was dripping from his forehead, and his face was twisted in pain, eyes shut and teeth clenched.

"Yata..."

He opened his eyes slightly. "You...idiot..." He let out, almost inaudibly.

Just after saying that, he fell forward on top of me, his head on one shoulder, and his arm on the other. His shirt and tank top were scorched in the back. "Yata? Yata!" I said shaking him. He was passed out. I could still here his heartbeat against my chest but it was too fast to be healthy. His forehead felt so hot against the skin of my neck. "No... Yata, please wake up."

"You even manage to bring your loved ones harm. Such a waste." Commented Nagare Hisui who seemed to have regained his self-control again.

"The only thing that's going to be wasted is you, Green King!" Shouted a voice from right behind him.

I knew this voice, and it was absolutely the last person I expected to be here that showed up. Ome appeared out of thin air right behind Nagare and grabbed him by the shoulders as well as dig her claws into his flesh. The Green King's body completely tensed up and he grunted as if he were in pain. But the young doctor's arms quickly started being swarmed by green branches slowly climbing up to her neck.

" _One of my powers is to absorb any aura and convert it into my own power. I have a limit and taking from a King would kill me."_

"Ome, stop! You'll die!" I shouted.

"Did you forget?!" She shouted back. "Unlike the other Kings, this guy's got a limit to his juice!" She explained as she kept absorbing.

She didn't let go. I watch helplessly as the green branches crawled all over her body even her legs and went all the way up to her cheeks and her face. Even her eyes turned completely green. She was in pain, I could tell. When her entire body was covered with aura poisoning, Nagare Hisui fell to his knees head down and his hair and clothes turned back to their original colors. Ome let go off him. She stayed immobile for a while. It looked like she wasn't even breathing.

"Ome?" I called out worried.

She suddenly collapsed and fell face first on the ground, like a rag doll. "OME!" I tried getting up, but having Yata on top of me as well as no strength left at all made it impossible. I then heard the Green King sighed before he turned white again from activating his power. He stood back up and looked at Ome's still body.

"For someone so smart, you should have known, Ome Shiranui. Next to the Slates, I'm constantly powered. It's like having a plug. My aura supply is endless. And now for this mistake, you are going to die. What a shame. Someone like you would've fit perfectly in our new world."

More tears of panic escaped my eyes. Ome couldn't die. Not here. Not like this. The King turned to me. "You see Miss Miwa? Constantly people desire power to help them accomplish things. Like you in this very moment."

He started walking towards us. I wrapped my arms around Yata and held him as tight as I could. "Stay away!" I ordered, but it sounded more like a plea than anything else.

At this very moment, someone entered the room, and I thought my heart was going to stop. That was too many surprises in such a short time. Ryu entered the room casually.

"So you're finally here, Purple King. Welcome. Your assistance will be needed soon."

"Seems like you've been busy in my absence, Green King." Stated my ex-King looking at Ome.

Ryu then looked up and saw me. His eyes widened in surprise. I froze and stopped breathing. My body started shaking. It felt... like that day eight month ago. When I woke up with no memory. I wanted to run. More than anything. But I couldn't. Ryu approached us at a quick pace. I held Yata even tighter than before. But Ryu's eyes were on me and me alone. He got down on one knee, an inch away from me. I shut my eyes when he reached to touch my face. I felt his hand gently trace my forehead until he touched my wound, then I flinched in pain.

"Yoru... what happened? Who did this to you?"

I opened my eyes. He was looking at me like he was staring at something unbelievably wrong. He looked at his hand that was now stained with my blood. It was shaking. He clenched it into a fist before slowly standing back up, his hair covering his eyes.

"Nagare." He called out to the Green King, without turning around. "It seems like you have misunderstood me.""

"Have I? How so?"

"When I said not a scratch on her..." He finally turned to face the Green King. "...I meant it quite literally."

"Now is not really the time for minor concerns, Purple King. The Silver King will be here any moment now."

"You've struck her. Burned her. Cut her. Hit her. What else have you done to her that I can't see? What have your pawns done to her that you don't know about either?"

A large amount of purple fog appeared and started to dance around Ryu. I couldn't see his eyes because his back was turned to me. He extended his arms and the entire room turned purple.

"I don't advise that you fight me here, Ryu Karasuno. You would loose."

Ryu didn't seem to hear him. "I will rip you to PIECES!"

The whole room, no, the entire base started shaking. It was like being in the middle of an earthquake. And I was frozen. All I could do was watch. Parts of the wall, the floor and even the ceiling were suddenly turning into deadly spikes and tried to hit the Green King who moved at lightening speed to avoid them or used his aura to destroy them. I was holding Yata in my arm almost crushing him against my chest. We couldn't stay here. But how could I get the three of us out with my current state. Lightening would come towards us from time to time, but Ryu never let it hit us. I could tell Ryu was throwing everything he had at Nagare, but the Green King remained unaffected and easily dodged and destroyed the projectiles.

"It's pointless, Ryu Karasuno. I hold the most powerful aura of all the seven Kings. Nothing you throw at me can hold against my electricity."

Ryu ceased his manipulations of material for a moment and sent a defiant glare at JUNGLE's leader. "You have no idea what I am capable of. Anyone who harms my Yoru can't escape my wrath. That includes you."

"Unfortunately, you have become a liability to my plans. I have no choice but to proceed in eliminating you. Game over, Purple King."

Nagare gathered a huge amount of green aura around his body before extending his arm towards Ryu and firing an enormous lightning bolt. Ryu made a barrier with the purple aura, but it quickly cracked with the constant impact of the green bolt. Still my ex-King didn't back down. The bolt ended up breaking the shield and hitting him. He was pushed back and fell on one knee. His head and mouth were bleeding. But he didn't even scream. That look of hate didn't leave his face and he stood back up as if nothing had happened.

"I'm impressed." Said the Green King with his usual neutral voice. "But how many strikes do you think you can take Ryu Karasuno? It's pointless to fight me. You will loose."

A smirk appeared on Ryu's face. And when he looked at Nagare again, his eyes were showing off that madness in him. "As I've said before, you have no idea what I can do! I'm going to destroy you!"

"How pretentious." Commented the Green King before charging up again, even more than before. "Disappear."

He fired. It was too fats for Ryu to make another aura barrier in time, but a second before it could hit him, the bolt suddenly changed direction and went to crash in the wall of the room, making it shake again.

"Lightening isn't impervious to gravity you know." Said a sweet familiar voice. The three of us looked at the entrance. The Silver King was standing in the door frame, with Neko by his side.

"Yashiro..." I muttered.

"Adolf K. Weissmann, Miyabi Ameno." Stated the Green King.

The strain girl paid no attention to him and ran at Ome's side and started shaking her. "Ome? Hey Ome, wake up. Open your eyes! Nyaa, Ome..." The doctor strain remained unresponsive as she was being shaken. I felt tears come up to my eyes again. It couldn't be. Neko placed her ear on her chest befoe straightening up. "Hmm! Shiro, I can't here the pounding!"

Yashiro made a disconcerted face before frowning and turning his attention to Nagare Hisui. "You really know no boundaries do you, Green King?"

"Believe me if you want. She brought it upon herself."

Yashiro frowned even more and I could tell he was struggling not to loose it. He closed his eyes to focus for a second before opening them again. "Miss Hirasaka. Please take Taiga and Yata out of here."

A hand suddenly appeared through the wall and grabbed my shirt before pulling us out of the room, before I could say anything. We found ourselves in one of the hallways of the base. Douhan Hirasaka was here.

"What are you doing here? I thought..." I started asking, but she pulled me up to my feet.

"Call it my conscious if you must. It's name is Saruhiko Fushimi."

"How did you..."

"No time for that. We have to leave now. This floor is going to turn into a war zone." She knelt down, picked up Yata and threw him over her shoulder. She started running but I grabbed her shoulder and stopped her.

"Wait! We have to go back!"

"Are you insane? A King's battle is about to unfold. What you saw was only a petty fight. Now there are three of them. This entire base is going to crumble."

"We can't leave Ome here!" I shouted, tears finally bursting out of my eyes.

I received a punch in the jaw. "THE LIVING BEFORE THE DEAD!" Shouted the ex-green clansman. "Don't sacrifice the one that still breathes for a corpse!" She scolded.

She started running again. I threw one last desperate look back before running after her, with a new flow of tears escaping my eyes and cursing myself. 'I'm sorry Ome.'

* * *

 **And we have the traditional cliffhanger (on a very sad note :'( harsh)! And right in the middle of battle? Gosh, I'm so evil! Hihi! I know there wasn't much Taiga/Yata interaction in this one (aside from that one part where he saved her life, but, that's not important), so you're gonna have plenty in the next chapter! I promise! And let's not forget our dying Kings! What's gonna happen to them I wonder? Tension, tension!**

 **IMPORTANT MESSAGE : So guys, starting July 1st, I'll be out camping for about a month and won't have my hands on a computer until August, so I won't be able to continue until then. So I'm sorry for leaving you on such a mean cliffhanger, but hang in there! I promise you a hell of a climax and a spectacular ending! Have a great summer everyone! ;) THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING UP 'TILL NOW! I LOVE YOU ALL!**

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	31. Chapter 29 : Invincible and Breakable

I ran behind the ninja girl through the hallway until we reached an elevator. With help from her electrical green aura, she made the machine go as fast as she could towards the highest floor. While we went up, the whole base started shaking, just like Ms Hirasaka had predicted. Saying the elevator was going up, was an understatement. The green aura was boosting the electrical power to much more than it's maximum speed.

"Slow down!" I told the ninja girl, while holding on to the walls to avoid falling. "We'll crash on the ceiling if we go that fast!"

"Hang on to me!" She ordered while extending her hand towards me. "Now!"

I grabbed her hand just before the machine collided with the ceiling and we were thrown upwards. But instead of ending up as bloody pancakes on the ceiling, we went through it and suddenly found ourselves outside. Having jumped a little too high, we crashed on the hard ground of the street. Hirasaka put Yata down and placed him on his back. She examined his wounds for a while before turning to me.

"He'll be fine. Only passed out from the blow. It's a miracle that didn't grill him. Your friend's is either extremely resourceful or ridiculously lucky."

"Both." I said, as I threw Yata unconscious body a sad look. 'You're an idiot. But then again, you and I are two peas in a pod, aren't we Yata?' I thought, looking at my beat up comrade.

Ms Hirasaka straightened up and activated her power again. She started sinking into the ground. "Hey, were are you going? You're not going back down there are you?"

"I've brought you to the surface like I was told. Now I need to go get Mr Fushimi. Otherwise, I'm fairly certain I'll never even see the shadow of the money the Blue King owes me. Piece of advice, you should stay by your King's side from now on."

And with that, the ninja girl disappeared into the ground. I looked around. Blue clansmen were fighting Green clansmen. There was also a huge smoke screen on the side of the entrance from which sparks of Blue and Purple appeared from time to time. And in front of the entrance, Mr Mikoto was waiting for something. Hands in his pockets and a cigaret in his mouth. As always Anna was by his side, looking down at the base as well. I grabbed Yata and threw him over my shoulders which took me a while (the guy is not particularly light and I'm not as fit as Hirasaka) and I made my way to my King and the young strain. She saw me arrive and smiled at me.

"Taiga!" She happily exclaimed as I put down Yata.

Mr Mikoto turned around as well. For a moment he looked very serious. I did worry everyone after all. "Mr Mikoto, I..."

I didn't have time to finish when my King threw his forehead to crash against mine. I was thrown back and brought my hands to my face to contain the pain. It hurt like hell but I forced myself to look at him again.

"You look like crap. Good to see you in one piece kid." Said my King with a small smile and his usual bored voice.

"I suppose I deserved that one." I replied with an awkward grin.

"Misaki." Said Anna worried when I put HOMRA's skateboarding captain down.

"He's only knocked out. Don't worry." I replied, trying to reassure myself too. "At least that's what Hirasaka said. The ninja girl from the greens who's on our side now."

I looked at the little girl and smiled at her. She smiled back, relieved. I then looked at my King. He was no different than usual. But he was dying. I couldn't put the thought and the image together. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be using his power and neither should Mr Munakata. But it was necessary. For Yashiro's plan. For the sake of the world. Anna pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Where's Ome? She went to get you..."

I stopped breathing and opened my mouth to reply, but nothing came out. My heart tightened inside my chest. I couldn't say it. Thinking about it was even a challenge. She was gone was the closest I could do. Suddenly, something exploded nearby and the three of us turned towards the source. A green clansman had tossed a bird bomb near us. At the same time, I spotted two unconscious bodies on the floor.

"Is that... Keiji and Akihiko?" I asked.

"Ome drained them. Before she went looking for you." Explained Anna, before making a shocked face. "Mikoto. If Misaki is here, no one will be covering the floor above Izumo!"

" _That's why I took that idiot's place."_ Said a voice coming from Anna's pocket. The young strain quickly took a red marble out of it. _"I'm on the floor above Kusanagi."_

"Saruhiko!" She exclaimed.

" _And PLEASE tell me the other idiot is with you too."_

I snatched the marble from Anna. "Saru! I thought Hirasaka was suppose to get you. Can you even walk? You took a knife in the leg!"

" _Don't shout, I can hear you fine. Hirasaka's with me. Don't sweat it. All I have to do is toss the marble when you tell me right?"_

Anna took the marble back and explained something to Saru while I sighed in relief, thanking the heavens that he was alright. I suddenly felt my face heat up as I remembered what happened between me and the blue clansman a while ago. I mentally slapped myself and shook my head. Now was definitely not the time to focus on that. I looked at Mr Mikoto who still had his eyes fixed on the smoke screen. SCEPTER 4's clansmen were everywhere, fending off green clansmen. Mr Munakata was obviously still busy fighting Iwafune. I looked down at Yata who was still passed out. The best I could do now was probably help the blue clansmen keep JUNGLE away from the entrance. I stood up and was about to go join their ranks, when Mr Mikoto grabbed me by the back of my shirt, stopping me in my tracks.

"Where do you think you're going?" Asked my King.

"To help." I replied, knowing that was probably the wrong answer.

"Do you even realize how beat up you are Taiga? I can see your legs shaking. You're staying here."

"But..."

"No buts. Besides..." He looked at the sky, and the wind made his hair dance around his face. "It'll be over soon."

"It will?" I asked.

Worry was certainly visible on my face. Yashiro's plan was in progress, that in itself could be a good thing. But what was going to happen to our Kings? A painful scream pulled me out of my trance and the three of us turned to look at where it came from. It was the scream of a man, that much I was sure of. The smoke screen slowly started dissipating. As the fog faded, Mr Munakata, Lieutenant Awashima and a couple blue clansmen appeared. But not just them. Laying in a pool of his own blood, was Tenkei Iwafune. The Blue King still had blood on his sword from the attack. The strain probably wouldn't survive. Now, only my former comrade stood in front of Mr Munakata. Lana gritted her teeth.

"Damn you." She cursed under her breath, her aura-made tentacles still dancing around her.

"It's over. Surrender now, Lana Blanchet." Ordered Lieutenant Awashima. "You have no chance against all of us."

"Tell me something Lieutenant." Snapped the angry and anxious purple clansman. "If your King gave you a mission, would you sacrifice everything in order to accomplish it?"

"Of course." Replied the Lieutenant without a second of hesitation.

"Good. Then you know why I'll never surrender!" She raised her hand again to manipulate her tentacles. What followed was a complete reflex. I grabbed Saru's knife (having no idea how that got in my pocket again) and tossed it as fast as I could until it planted itself in Lana's hand. The woman screamed in pain and turned around to see who had thrown the dagger. Her eyes widened when she saw me.

"Yoru..."

Those few seconds of attention were her downfall. Lieutenant Awashima jumped on the occasion and ran up to the purple clansman, drawing her sword. Lana turned around just in time to step away from the lethal strike. But not fast enough to escape it completely. The sword slashed through her side that started bleeding heavily. Lana screamed and grunted in pain. She fell to the ground, as the red liquid started soaking her stylish clothes. My heart skipped a beat. I know this was a war and that war requires to not hesitate when facing your enemies. But still, watching my ex-comrade get taken down mercilessly like that made me feel sick. In that short moment, Mr Kusanagi's nickname for SCEPTER 4's number two made a lot of sense.

"It's over Lana Blanchet. You've lost." Declared the Heartless woman, her sword glowing with the blue aura.

Lana clenched her teeth, fighting the pain but forced herself to look at the Lieutenant despite the slightest movement probably torturing her. "It's not over. Not as long as I breath..." She spat out, with a determined look filled with a raging fire. She tried to push herself up and summon the purple fog, but it disappeared and she fell back down when she flinched in pain due to her injury.

The Lieutenant frowned at the persistence of her enemy. "Then you leave me no choice." She raised her weapon again. "Prepare yourself."

Again, reflex. I summoned the red flames and shot a line of fire between the two women. The Lieutenant stopped in her track as I jogged towards them.

"Stop it! Both of you!" I shouted, placing myself in between them.

"Move aside, Taiga Miwa." Ordered the Lieutenant.

"NO!" I shouted as loud as I could. "It's over Lieutenant. There's no need for more blood."

Lana tried to take the opportunity to summon her tentacle shaped aura, but I'd anticipated that attempt. I turned around and stepped on her wounded side. She cried in pain again and the aura disappeared. I crouched down next to her.

"Give it up Lana. You're wounded, fighting would only make it worse."

"I already told you Yoru. I'll fight for Ryu, no matter what it... ahh!" She let out when I punched her in the face.

"He's already down there! Stop being an idiot! I can't stop you from serving him but I sure as hell am not letting you throw your life away for that bastard, you hear me?" I scolded. "Now stay still so I can bandage your wound before you die of hemorrhage! Try to summon your aura again and I swear I'll knock you out."

I took off my sweatshirt and pressed it against her still bleeding side to try and stop the blood flow. Lana looked at me in disbelief, before relaxing all of her muscles and letting herself fall down. She started laughing. "Seriously, is it possible to be that pathetic and useless? Hahahaha! You win Yoru. I give up. At least for now." Her face suddenly twisted in pain again. I turned to the members of SCEPTER 4. "She needs medical treatment! Now!"

The Lieutenant seemed hesitant. That made my anxiousness rise even more. "If we don't do anything she'll die!"

The heartless woman seemed conflicted and turned to her King. "Captain?"

"Hmm." Let out the Blue King as he observed the fallen purple clansman. For too long. Way too long for me to remain calm. Lana's face was turning white from the loss of blood and an enormous amount of sweat appeared all over. I tried to get her attention again but it was like she couldn't hear me anymore. She was panting like she'd just run a marathon. I turned to the Mr Munakata, completely panicked. "You're not gonna do anything? You're just gonna let her die?"

He didn't reply but readjusted his glasses. "Tell me red clansman, Taiga Miwa. Were you not on the lower floor a while ago? You did say Ryu Karasuno was there. Was Nagare Hisui there as well?"

"Well, yeah but why does that matter now?! Lana's gonna..."

"Did you happen to see the Silver King while you were still inside the base?" He questioned, interrupting me.

"Yes! Why do you care?"

A small smirk appeared at the corner of his lips. "I suppose that Lana Blanchet is no longer a threat to us then. The end of this conflict is close." He turned to his right hand. "Lieutenant, please make sure she's taken care of."

"But Sir..." Said the Lieutenant, uncertain. "She can still be a threat."

"We are not murderers, Miss Awashima. Besides, she's hardly a threat now. She'd be incapable of fighting any of us in that state, certainly not without the help of Tenkei Iwafune. This war is coming to an end soon. Now, we can only trust that Yashiro Isana's plan will work."

The Lieutenant looked at me, with an uncertain face and I responded with a determined one. Still unconvinced, she gave the order to bring Lana to one of their vehicles and treat her. Two clansmen picked her up and took her with them to one of SCEPTER 4's trucks. The Blue King approached me and offered me a hand.

"It seems you could use medical attention yourself, Miss Miwa."

I frowned and grabbed his hand. He pulled me up to my feet and the stretch of my body made me realize just how beat up I was. Despite that, I gave him a serious look. "I'll be fine." I said, ignoring the pain of my scratches, bruises and sore muscles. I looked at the King. "Thank you, Mr Munakata. For Lana."

All I got for a reply was a smile before he turned back to his men. I joined my King who was still standing over the entrance to the underground base of JUNGLE's HQ. Anna was on her knees, with Yata's head on her lap, her hand on his forehead. He looked like he was sleeping. How was he feeling about what had happened between us? Does he even know why he said that to me? It was part of Yata to be very childish sometimes, and honestly it had it's charm. But that moment... the things he said to me... somehow, they kept playing over and over in my mind and it was frustrating beyond belief. I looked at my King and tried to focus on something other than my depressing thoughts.

"So... what does Yashiro want you to do, Mr Mikoto?" I asked.

"Make a hole." Simply replied the Red King. "A big one."

A hole? What did the Silver King have in mind exactly? In any case it didn't seem like Mr Mikoto was willing to explain anymore than that. The wind blew through the streets. SCEPTER 4 had all the green clansmen under control. The waiting was insufferable. The Blue King was right. Good or bad, the end was near. A groan made both Mr Mikoto and I turn around.

"Misaki!" Exclaimed Anna, happily.

The red clansman groaned a little more and squinted before slowly opening his eyes. I knelt down next to him and waited for him to completely emerge from his drowsy state. He finally seemed to focus when he saw Anna over him.

"Anna?"

He sat up slowly and placed a hand on his face, as if he was trying to settle the dizziness. I observed him, and my mind suddenly went blank. What could I say to him? Now was really not the time to have him explain himself, but as I said, I couldn't hep but think of what had happened. He groaned a little more and then looked at me. I unintentionally held my breath.

"Taiga..." He said.

"Hey." I said, awkwardly. I wondered if I should have shouted at him for using himself as a shield for me, but that would have been a complete paradox with everything I'd done since bargaining with the Green King. On any other day, my uneasiness would be contagious to him. But instead, this time he grabbed me by the shoulders roughly. "Are you alright?! Did that freak do anything to you?!"

"I'm fine! Really!" I replied immediately. "What about you? You took the bolt for me."

"I'm fine! But what were you thinking, you idiot?"

BOOM! The ground suddenly started shaking under us, interrupting our conversation. It was just like before, having an earthquake under our feet. Anna, Yata and I stood up immediately, and tried to maintain our balance.

"It's happening." Simply said the Red King.

The young strain looked at her marble and we waited, the ground constantly shaking under us. Then suddenly, in sky, alongside the blue and purple Swords of Damocles, appeared those of the Green and Silver King.

"That's the signal!" Shouted Yata. "Hold on, I'm suppose to be down there!"

"Relax, Yata." Said the Red King, as calm as ever. "It's covered for you."

"Covered? By who?"

"You three, stay back."

Mr Mikoto jumped into the hole and landed on the first platform. The raging flames of the red aura suddenly surrounded him and another Sword of Damocles appeared in the sky alongside the others.

"Burn them!" Muttered the Red King before unleashing his full power. The heat was so bad even we had to step back. The stigma on my ankle started burning intensely, Yata clutched his shirt over his chest and Anna, placed a hand on her eye. It felt like my chest was going to melt, because of that heat. But it was that warm, familiar fire that we all knew so well. The red that brought us together as Anna would say. It felt like my exhaustion had left me. I felt swallowed by these flames and more powerful than ever. But I was too busy contemplating the power of my King. We couldn't loose. This power that united us... was going to give us victory. I knew it. All doubt and worry left me and I proudly stared at the flames.

"No blood." Said Anna, throwing a determined look towards her King.

"No bone!" Shouted Yata, with that idiotic grin of his that I liked so much.

"No ash." I added, unable to conceal my own smile.

Mr Mikoto's flames shot through the ground, making a gigantic hole in the first platform. The noise indicated that the flames were piercing each and every floor like they were made out of wood, probably connected by Anna's marbles. I was captivated by the work of the Red King's flames. I only came back to reality when Anna called out.

"Taiga! Misaki!"

The two of us looked to the side to see the two purple clansmen that I hated the most approaching us. 'They've already recovered? These guys are monsters!' I thought. They looked beat up and tiredness even showed on their faces, but not the slightest in their movements. They were both ready for a fight. And for once, Keiji didn't have that scary smirk on his face. But it returned as soon as he saw us. "Well, well Kitten. Looks like we meet again. I thought the boss would have his hands on you by now."

"Anna get back!" Ordered the vanguard before placing himself protectively in front both of us.

Keiji made a face. "Oh, great, you're here too. You don't look so good though. You look like you've been barbecued. We're not in a good mood, so I suggest you back down now. In your state you wouldn't last..."

Before he could finish, the youngest twin received a punch in the face that threw him back five meters. Yata curled up one fist in his other hand and cracked his fingers together. "Listen up you twisted sons of bitches, I'm sick of you and your psycho of a King." An evil grin suddenly appeared on his face. I could almost see the black wings come out of his back. "It doesn't matter how many times you've kicked my ass before. I'm not putting up with your shit any longer! When Mr Mikoto's near me like that, I'm invincible!"

The red flames of the aura suddenly bursted out and surrounded him. More intense than I'd ever seen before. Now that he mentioned it, I realized that I wasn't shaking. My stomach wasn't twisted and I wasn't panicking even though they were so close. I couldn't feel my own fear. Was that what Ome meant by becoming stronger when your King is near you? It was logical : if I was stronger than them, what did I have to fear? In any case, the only thing I felt right now, was the power inside me, screaming to get out. I wanted to fight, and for the first time, I felt like I could match anyone! So I let it. The fire surrounded me like it did Yata. I pushed Anna back a little and stepped up to be by Yata's side.

"Bring it." I dared the mercenaries.

The twins looked at me like I was a different person. Their lack of response proved that they knew how serious we were. Yata stared at me from the corner of his eye but he didn't say anything. Keiji sighed and he clenched his teeth. "I really do hate you, little cat."

"Keiji." Warned his brother.

"No, I'm tired of this Aki. The boss can say whatever he wants. All the shit you've been through because of her... I'm gonna kill her."

The purple clansman pulled his gun out. Then it was like my body moved on it's own. I pushed myself forward with help of my aura and grabbed his gun as he was about to point it at me. "No you don't."

I summoned the flames in my hand and they immediately attacked the metal that melted in a matter of seconds. Before he could react, I sent my knee flying in his guts. He took a few steps back holding his stomach. "What the..."

The older twin unsheathed his blades and ran towards me, only to be kicked in the head by HOMRA's skateboarding Captain.

"In a normal fight, I wouldn't stand a chance against you. You're right about that." I said, before pulling two fingers up. "But you forgot two things. First, you were drained of your aura just a while ago. Even if you're awake, I doubt you've recovered so quickly. Second, my King is releasing more power than he ever has. That makes me more powerful than ever." I said.

I meant everything I said. The fire burning around me left no room for any doubt. Even though I knew it probably wouldn't last, I intended to make good use of my raging flames. For once, I could match these monsters, and it was about damn time I showed them up. I felt a grin stretch across my face, involuntarily. "I have to say, it's about damn time I pay you back!"

Without hesitating, I threw myself on the gun wielder, flames still surrounding me. My speed and strength were majorly enhanced, unlike ever before. Keiji was on the defensive for the most part, trying to dodge my hits but could only evade a couple. Every time I landed a hit, it almost felt like his bones would shatter. He tried making a shield by remodeling the ground, but one kick or punch from me and it shattered in pieces. Next to us, Yata was dueling with Akihiko. He seemed to feel exactly what he said : invincible. I could tell because of the grin on his face, and the fact that he was dominating the mercenary by far, unlike during all their previous encounters. Keiji was experienced enough to still land hits me. The problem was, he was a lot weaker than usual. Not gonna lie, I was enjoying that new found strength of mine. And I also had a bunch of anger to unload on these bastards. We definitely had the advantage on one-on-one, but we couldn't let these two make contact and create a landslide here. The crow seemed to have that in mind two, because the way we moved, we were almost back to back, keeping the twins away from one another. Even without looking at him, I knew where he was.

Keiji dodged a left hook, but wasn't quick enough to escape my elbow in the chin. I didn't give him time to recover, and threw my foot in his face yet again. He tried to hit me with a series of kicks and punches, that I dodged with a couple of acrobatic moves. I then charged up as much aura as I could in my arm and waited for an opening. I got it after kicking him in the knee and almost dislocating it. That stopped him in his tracks and I grabbed the opportunity. I threw my closed fist towards his stomach. He tried to block it but even hitting him on the forearm sent him flying. I also felt his bone finally give and crack at the impact. A few second after me, Yata did the same, by spinning on his arm and sending his foot in Akihiko's face, break dance style.

"Stay down." Both of us said in unison.

The two purple clansmen didn't seem to budge after those last hits. Hopefully they were out for good this time.

"That was something huh?" Said Yata, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah no kidding." I commented looking at my hands, still surrounded by the flames, even though I was not making them. "Have you ever felt that before? I mean it's no the first time we fight near Mr Miko..."

Suddenly the flames surrounding us disappeared. Pain violently struck me from everywhere in an instant, without any warning. As a result, I felt a strong dizziness and lost balance. Yata caught me as I was falling forward. "Oi! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said getting back on my feet quickly. "It's just... I can feel my wounds again."

"Same here. Hurts like hell."

I could tell I was back as my usual self. The levels of strength, speed as well as overconfidence dropped in the space of a couple seconds. I also felt the exhaustion due to the extreme effort I had displayed in that fight. My hands were shaking.

"Did I really beat Keiji?" I questioned myself.

A green glow on the ground caught our attention. The ninja girl appeared out of the ground with Saru this time. She helped him sit on the ground and lean against one of the trees that decorated the sidewalk of the street. We quickly joined them.

"Saru!" Exclaimed Yata. "You covered for me?"

"Someone had to." Dully replied the blue clansman.

Hirasaka stood up. "Well, I'm no medic, so my work here is done." She said ever-serious. "Good luck." She stood up and started running away from the scene.

I crouched down next to him. "How's your leg?"

"Now that the adrenaline went down, hurts like a bitch. But I'll live."

Yata rubbed the back of his head and looked away. "Look, man. Th-thanks for covering."

To my big surprise, Saru made no slick remarks and simply looked away. "It's not over yet."

"Do you think Yashiro's okay?" I asked. "Both Ryu and the Green King are down there..."

"Who knows?" Replied the blue clansman, before flinching due to the pain.

"Are you sure you're alright? You look awful."

"No worse than you."

"I can still walk, at least."

"Walking is not very useful if you don't use your head."

"Why you..."

"Taiga! Misaki!" Shouted Anna, who was running towards us. "Mikoto is... Mikoto's red is..."

Yata and I looked towards the entrance of the underground base, as our King was climbing out. He wasn't using his power anymore, but the flames around him were still dancing. As we got closer I realized that he seemed to have dark burn marks on his hands and neck. He was looking up at the sky. I looked up and my eyes widened in fear and a gasp escaped my throat. His Sword of Damocles... was visibly cracking from everywhere, even smoking. The red was darkening as if it had been scorched in some places and bits of it seemed to be falling. I kept my eyes on the Sword, paralyzed by what I was seeing. My heart tightened in my chest, my mouth hung open in shock and sweat started forming on my forehead. Yata was as paralyzed as I was, wondering what the hell was happening. Then, slowly but surely, it started going down.

"NO!" I shouted, extending my hands towards the sky.

Everything that followed was out of my hands. The purple fog appeared around my arms … before it surrounded the Red King's Sword of Damocles. In the space of one second, it felt like a huge weight was dropped on my shoulders. My legs gave in and my knees crashed on the tar ground. I screamed as my flesh was being torn, practically to the bone.

"Taiga!" Shouted Yata and Saru at the same time.

It was like carrying a ton. My breathing accelerated and an ocean of sweat started dripping from my face, as well as everywhere else. It took all the effort in the world, to lift my head and look up. My King's Sword had stopped it slow decent. The purple fog was carrying it. I was carrying it and it felt like every bone in my body was bending and on the verge of breaking. My muscles were burning me.

"Stop it, you idiot!" Shouted Saru.

I was feeling it for the first time. The burden of my King. What that what they were feeling everyday? A load so heavy it could crush you like it was trying to sink me into the ground now? The pain was screaming at me to let go, or my body would break in pieces but that wasn't an option. The weight was suffocating me, yet I could not allow myself to let go. Yata knelt down next to me, panicked.

"Taiga! Let go!"

"No..." I replied.

"You dumbass!" Shouted Saru. "It'll crush you! You have to let go!"

"NO! If I let go... the Sword will fall... and Mr Mikoto'll..."

The Blue King looked up at his own Sword. It too was almost cracked to the limit. Small bolts of blue aura were dancing around him.

"Captain!" Shouted the Lieutenant. "You have to stop using your aura."

"I've already tried. But it seems I am no longer able to control it." He turned to the Red King. "How about you Suho? It seems your downfall has already began..."

"Yeah..." Replied the crimson King. "Oh well... You've got more time. Me first. Don't miss."

The Blue King sighed. "As if I would. In any case, I'll be joining you shortly." He replied as he drew his sword.

Mr Mikoto blew a last cloud of smoke out of his lungs before dropping his cigaret and stepping on it. He then turn his head to look at us.

"Taiga." He called out. I looked at him, knowing the inevitable was about to happen. It was either that, or all of us would die. It was only a matter of minutes before my body would break for real. I was only delaying the inevitable. But … I didn't want to let go! I looked at Mr Mikoto. He was smiling at me. His eyes were soft, like when he talked to Anna. His voice was filled with compassion and warmth when he said those words. "Thanks, kid."

He then looked at Yata and pointed to me with a sign of the head. Yata clenched teeth and fists and shut his eyes for a moment. Then he grabbed both my hands, and gave me a serious look, determined but full of sadness. "Taiga, let go. Or I'll make you."

He wasn't giving me a choice, and he was right. I knew he was right. I threw one last look at my King who was still smiling. I shut my eyes and released the purple aura.

...

The invisible weight disappeared, but I kept my eyes shut, not wanting to witness the death of my King by Mr Munakata's hand. I heard some sort of big crashing sound but still refused to open my eyes. But then Yata let out a surprised sound.

"What the hell!" He exclaimed.

My eyes flashed open. What I was seeing was not what I expected. First, there was a wall made out of purple aura blocking the path of the Blue King to reach Mr Mikoto. Second, there was a hole in the ground a couple meters from us. Next to it, was the dog strain, shelled up. It was probably him that had made the hole while escaping the base. Thirdly, next to the dog, was standing the Purple King. Over his shoulder, was the body of the doctor strain, still covered in green aura poisoning. He let her fall down to the ground like a rag doll and looked up at the sky. The purple fog was dancing around him. He was looking at the Swords, with a very irritated glare.

"Ryu. What are you doing?" I muttered, more confused than ever.

Mr Mikoto and Mr Munakata were looking at him. The Blue King grinned and readjusted his glasses. "Well isn't this a surprise. You were the last person I'd expect help from, Ryu Karasuno."

"My pride isn't unaffected, Blue King. So watch your tongue." Replied Ryu, throwing SCEPTER 4's leader a death glare. "At the present moment, I have my reasons."

"May ask what circumstances pushed you to switching sides?"

"Let's just say the Green King simply got at the top of my list of annoying pests. And don't flatter yourself, I haven't joined you. I'd also like to avoid getting caught in another Kagutsu crater incident."

"So what you want is revenge against Nagare Hisui. But you do realize this benefits us a lot in a way."

"I've never enjoyed easy wins, Blue King. Right now, you and the Red King are at your weakest, crushing you would be far too easy. In other words, I have lost interest in you for now. Rest assured, the moment Nagare is dealt with, you will be my prime targets again."

"I see. But you won't be able to carry two Swords forever. Even the Silver King is not that strong."

"He doesn't need forever." Said Mr Mikoto, taking a cigarette out of his jacket and pointing at the sky.

All of us looked up at the same time. The Silver Sword of Damocles was degrading at an incredibly fast speed!

"But that's impossible!" I said. "Yashiro's the immortal King, his Sword can't degrade unless...he's forcing it to."

I didn't have time to go on with my train of thought. The Sword of Damocles of the immortal King, started falling at an impressive speed, right down the hole made by Mr Mikoto.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Good to be back! And again, sorry for the delay. This story is now officially over a year old! Thank you all so much for having read all the way up 'til now! ;)**

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	32. Chapter 30 : Heads or Tails

**Hey guys! I know it took me forever to update, so I'm sorry. But I brainstormed a lot to find a the best way to end everything. I had to make choices. I hope you'll like it.**

 **Enjoy!**

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He was holding them. The Swords of Damocles of the Red and Blue Kings. Not directly, but the purple aura dancing around them proved it. What on God's earth was going on? Ryu was on our side? That was impossible. My mind was playing ping-pong between the fact that my tormentor was helping us and the fact that Yashiro's Sword had just fallen down the gigantic hole made by my King. It had to have been part of the Silver King's plan. But what was it? The only thing I saw was a downfall. I held my breath expecting to be blown to bits in less than a minute along with the rest of Shizume. Yata's grip on my shoulders tightened as well, and just like everyone else around, we were quiet as tombstones, staring at the giant hole. It felt like an eternity was going by. No one was even paying attention to the Purple King anymore, but just like the others he was staring at the hole. Suddenly my back and my ankle started burning, like my stigmas were on fire. Yata grunted as well, and clenched a fist over his chest. In fact, every clansmen around seemed to be feeling the same sensation. And at the same time, the three Kings present suddenly got surrounded by their own auras, each color forming some sort of protective shield around them. Not one of them budge and they kept their eyes on the entrance of JUNGLE'S HQ. Then, without any warning a gigantic pillar of white light bursted out of the hole and shot up to the sky until it reached and swallowed the four Swords of Damocles floating in the air. In the space of a few seconds, the symbols of the Color Kings' powers disappeared. My stigmas immediately stopped burning me. I brought my hand up and tried summoning the red flames, but nothing happened. It was gone. I felt like I'd just lost something. I looked at Mr Mikoto. The dark marks on his skin were gone. The blue bolts that had been threateningly dancing around Mr Munakata were gone as well.

"It's gone..." Muttered Yata.

"What?"

"My flames... they're gone." He repeated.

All of it was gone. The Swords, the auras, the Kings were no longer Kings... and they were alive. Saved from the burden of their powers. A huge sensation of relief overwhelmed me and I suddenly felt incapable of standing up. I let myself fall on the ground and just breath the stress out. Too much had gone down way too fast for my poor sensitivity. Yata sat and panted as well, sweat falling down his face.

"Well, that's gotta be the worst raid I've ever been a part of."

"No shit." Replied the crow.

We looked at each other, but quickly averted our eyes. With everything that went down, I forgot that we still had a problem of our own. But I didn't get the time to meditate on these thoughts. Mr Kusanagi and the rest of HOMRA came out of the underground base one by one. They looked cheerful and happy of their victory. Aside from a couple of bruises and scratches, all of them looked alright. Rikio was the first to spot us.

"Oi Yata!" Called out the big clansman.

"Yo Kamamoto!" Replied the crow. "Are you guys all in one piece?"

The group of red clansmen joined us and started picking on Yata about his absence during the fire up. As predicted he got pissed and they started arguing again. Mr Kusanagi helped me up and asked if I was alright. I reassured him and while they fought childishly, I turned my attention back to our King.

"Well, Suho." Said the Blue King sheathing his sword. "It seems that the afterlife is not ready for us yet."

The Red King grinned. "Even hell wouldn't want you in it."

The man in blue readjusted his glasses and sighed. "Not even near death experience can do anything about your foul mouth, I see. Let's leave that for later, shall we? Things still need wrapping up here."

They both looked at Ryu and so did I. The Purple King was staring at the palm of his hand, head down and his hair hiding his eyes. His hand was shaking. He clenched it, but there was no sign of tension. That's when I realized... he didn't have the power misshape anymore. He was no longer the Purple King. He was just a man. I dared to take a step forward.

"Ryu?" I called out, hesitantly.

He seemed to be pulled out of a trance and straightened up brusquely. He slowly turned his head to look at me and I met his eyes for one tiny second... and froze. Yata then grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back a little, and Ryu looked away again.

"Stay back!" Ordered the crow.

"Calm down Misaki Yata." Said the head of SCEPTER 4. "He no longer has any power left."

"That doesn't change the fact that he's a sick bastard." Growled back the crow, without ever taking his eyes off the ex-Purple King.

I wasn't listening to him. I was too busy trying to believe if I'd seen right. I must have been dreaming... This could not be happening. Not after all of this. I was delusional! Ryu was looking away again.

"Aren't you gonna arrest him?" Asked Mr Mikoto lighting a cigarette.

"As appealing as that sounds, I no longer have the authority to do so. I was relieved of my duties as a law enforcer, remember? Besides, he did help us even if it was for his own benefit. What about you, are you going to beat him to a pulp?"

"Too troublesome. I need a nap. But if he comes near her again, I'll probably kill him."

Ryu took that conversation as a clue to leave and turned around to walk away. He didn't even throw another look in my direction. My body moved on it's own and I pushed Yata aside. I needed answers. I ran as fast as I possibly could (given my condition), grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him to turn around.

"WAIT!" I shouted, not having a clue of what I was doing.

When he looked at me, my eyes widened in shock. His eyes showed surprise but that wasn't all. Tears were flowing down his face. He was crying. Ryu Karasuno was crying. I could see shock in his eyes, and he was shaking. It almost looked like he was scared of me. A feeling of nostalgia and extreme sadness invaded my mind. I knew this person. My mouth hung open in shock.

"It's you..." I let out.

He looked away again and tugged his arm trying to get free. "Let go of me, Yoru."

He tugged hard enough that I let go of his arm but immediately grabbed him by the shoulders and made him turn around completely. "LOOK AT ME!" I ordered.

He didn't fight me this time and let himself be turned around, as if he had no strength left at all. He was facing me but not looking at me in the eyes. His shaking was still present and tears were endlessly streaming down his face. It was a look of shame and self-hatred. I'd know it anywhere. I could not be wrong.

"It's really you. Ryu... you're back."

Those were the eyes and the face of Ryu. Not the Purple King that'd been trying to hunt me down for the past year, not the man that tortured me and wanted to put me in a prison of glass... This was my Ryu, my friend. The one I thought I'd lost for ever. The one I thought had never existed in the first place. I started shaking myself and felt my face twist in sadness as my own eyes started to water.

"Where have you been? Where the hell were you?!" I was trying to get angry, but the sadness took over completely.

"Yoru..." He muttered trying to pull away, but I tightened my grip and refused to let him take another step back. Now that he was here again.

"Answer me damn it!" I insisted.

Why was he trying to run away? He sighed before looking into my eyes again. But this time, he was frowning. "I'm sorry, Yoru."

At lightening quick speed, he pocked me in the throat with two fingers, which cut off my breath and made me take a step back and bring my hands to my neck. He didn't stop there and hit me in a similar manner, once in the solar plexus and twice in the stomach. The hits themselves were not painful, but their effect was real. My vision got blurry and I felt myself loose all control over my legs and the rest of my body. I took three unstable steps before falling forward, unable to even bring my arms up to break the fall. But I landed on Ryu's chest and the Purple King wrapped his arms around me to keep me from falling. My consciousness was still intact even though I couldn't move an inch.

"Taiga!" I heard Yata's voice shouting. "Bastard!"

"Wait Yata!" Ordered Mr Kusanagi, blocking his way. "Don't be reckless."

Ryu leaned down so that his mouth would almost touch my ear. "Don't be fooled, Yoru. I'm still me. The one that kidnapped, chained and tortured you. The one that wanted to kill everyone you love. Don't think that just because I lost my power means I'm any different now."

Liar. He was lying. If he was the same... then why was he not trying to take me now? Why wasn't I shaking in fear? And why was he warning me? No, this guy was not the same one that had been standing there ten minutes ago.

"You're lying..." I said.

He didn't answer and gently lowered me to the ground. The moment he let me go, he jumped back a couple meters to avoid getting kicked in the face by HOMRA's skateboarding captain. Yata threw himself on him again and tried to punch him in the face. But Ryu moved faster, grabbed his wrist and using Yata's momentum against him, he twisted his arm in his back and kicked him behind the legs to make him fall to his knees. Yata grunted in pain and all I could do was watch. But I was not scared for Yata.

"Damn it!" Cursed the crow. "Let go of me you son of a bitch!"

"You're the one she chose, aren't you?" Asked the ex-Purple King. There was no hate, no anger in his voice, like before. Only that everlasting sadness. A long silence followed. He was waiting for an answer.

"Yeah that's right!" Shouted back Yata, probably impulsively, and struggling to get free of the hold. "I'll never let you lay a hand on her. Even if I have to kill you for that!"

"Looks like I lost this crow fight." He smiled sadly. "Take care of her."

"Huh?" Let out the crow, so surprised he stopped struggling. Ryu released him of his hold. "Don't worry, you'll be able to move in a couple of minutes without any undesirable side effect."

He turned around and started walking away again. It took all my will and more to lift my head and look in his direction. "Don't you...dare run away from me..." I wanted to shout this as loud as I could, but my voice was even more impaired than the rest of me. But I knew he could hear me.

"You... you owe me an explanation!"

He kept walking away, ignoring me, as the others just stayed there staring at him and doing nothing to stop him.

"Don't walk away from me!" I tried shouting, as I fought with my muscles to move. "RYU!"

He kept walking. Something turned in my stomach and the anger made every muscle in my body ache. He could not leave me ignorant like this, in the dirt. 'Move. Move. Move!' I ordered myself. Slowly but surely, I was able to move. I grabbed a stone from the ground and it took all my will power to toss it so that it would hit the back of Ryu's head. Not nearly strong enough to make him feel the slightest bit of pain. But he stopped. I breathed heavily feeling the anger ready to burst out of me. I forced my numb limbs to move and while I stood, I finally let it out.

"Just how stupid do you think I am? I know it's you Ryu, don't you dare try to tell me otherwise. You have no right to leave me behind a second time! Not after the shit you put me through! You owe me."

I was finally standing, and I started walking very slowly, risking to fall again at every step. He remained his back turned to me, but to my big surprise, he answered.

"What can I say that won't sound like an excuse?" He muttered, loud enough so I could hear.

"Nothing could sound worse than that answer." I snapped, my sentences punctuated with heavy breaths du to the anger and the over exertion of my body. "It's not that complicated. Tell me the truth!"

He turned around this time and faced me. "I killed your mother. That's the truth, Yoru. Can you even picture yourself forgiving me?"

I froze up again. I did not expect him to bring this up. And he was right : I couldn't forget. How could I forgive him for killing my mom.? I couldn't... Suddenly, the ex-purple King looked behind me and his eyes widened in fear. He pushed me aside as I heard a gun shot. Not being completely recovered from whatever he'd done to me, I ended up on the ground. Ryu's cheek had been grazed, probably by the bullet. Everyone turned around and looked at where the shot came from. Keiji and Akihiko, still heavily bruised from our last clash with them were standing a few meters from us. Akihiko looked as serious as ever, but Keiji, for once, showed true anger.

'This is crazy, those guys should be in a coma after that beat down! They're monsters. And I thought I melted that gun... did he have a spare?'

"Oops. Sorry boss. Wasn't aiming for you." Said the youngest.

"What do you think you're doing Keiji?" Replied Ryu, frowning at the mercenary.

"You see boss, when we started working for you, everything was fun and exciting. Especially with the new powers. And now, you lost your them. So let's just say there are no more benefits in working for you anymore. Now we're dealing with a personal matter." The youngest twin turned to me. "Everything was fine before you showed up, little cat. Your very existence screwed it all up. So now we're going to get even with you."

Everyone around, be it HOMRA or SCEPTER 4 got on guard, but that only served to make the mercenary laugh. "You guys are real idiots aren't you? Now that you lost your powers, none of you are even close to a match for us. We were able to mop the floor with you before without even using the purple aura. You're all beat up! I don't even think you'll have time to blink before I can put a bullet in your head."

Despite how right he was, no one backed down. But it really didn't matter how many of us were here. These two were just too strong, when it came to combat. I was in the process of brainstorming to think of a solution but Ryu took a step forward.

"Should I take that as the end of our contract, Keiji?"

"That's right, boss. Mind stepping aside? Unless you'd like to be my first target."

"What about you Akihiko?" Asked Ryu calmly, looking at the quiet eldest.

"I'm with my brother. I've had more than enough of this."

"I see. Well, I've raised you monsters. It's only fit that I deal with you."

Keiji's face twisted in anger. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to kick your face in, BOSS."

"I will say this one last time. Not as your King, but as myself. Nothing's changed. If you lay a hand on Yoru, you will regret it."

"You are so FULL OF IT!"

It all went too fast for me. Both brothers moved at the exact same time. In the space of one second, both were on each side of the ex-King, one sword ready, one gun aimed. Ryu moved his head just enough to avoid Keiji's bullet, but that wasn't all. With snake like speed, he grabbed Akihiko's wrist and redirected his aim... the blade pierced the younger twin's chest right into the heart. The eldest didn't even have time to realize what had happened, Ryu seized the gun of the youngest Inukai and shot a bullet through the sword wielder's head. Both died before they even hit the ground. Everyone stared, shocked. The wind blew and moved his hair away from his face. Blood had splashed on his cheek and shirt. He dropped the gun and looked at me.

"You... you killed them..." Was all I managed to say. "That's..."

"Not something your friend Ryu would've done. Do you still think I changed? I've killed your mother and my actions directly led to the death of your friend. What could you possibly want to do with me Yoru?"

"Death of my friend? What are you talking about?"

His eyes looked somewhere else and I followed. Ome's still body was still laying on the ground. The green aura poisoning was gone, just like every aura. But she was not moving. I instantly forgot about everything else and got up to run to her side, followed by most of the red clan. He skin was pale and she was cold.

"Ome! Can you hear me? OME!"

Mr Kusanagi, who was a lot clamer than me, knelt down beside her and grabbed her hand. "Ome, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand."

He waited a moment and then placed two fingers under her throat. The bartender then made a face, and shook his head.

"No way..." Said Yata. "Oi! She can't be... You don't mean."

"The doc's really gone?" Muttered Kosuke.

Kamamoto started crying. "Those green bastards."

Everyone started muttering to each other, while I was trying to settle my mind that was being invaded by a thousand thoughts. Their chatter was annoying me and making my head spin even faster. So much that it was nauseating. But I couldn't bring myself to yell and tell them to shut up. The first person to call me friend when I had amnesia was gone. Gone for good after she saved my life. This pain in my chest was familiar. It was the same one I felt when I found out that my mom had been killed.

"Why are you all so noisy..." Suddenly said a grouchy but quiet, hoarse voice.

My eyes shot open and I looked at the immobile strain. She sounded exhausted, but she was talking. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the sky. "If we're not dead now then that means we won... So why's everybody being so dramatic over nothing?"

"YOU STUPID STRAIN!" Shouted Yata. "You scared the crap out of us, you know!"

"Who's being dramatic?" Said Mr Mikoto.

"That wasn't nice Ome." Reproached Anna.

"Tch. You're a real pain to deal with." Growled Saruhiko.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll buy you popsicles later, kids. No need to cry over me." She joked, but her voice betrayed the pain she was feeling.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

"Freezing. I can't move a muscle. I've never felt so numb in my life. And breathing's kind of painful. Hey, am I blindfolded or something? It's pitch black, I can't see anything..." She started trembling. "Seriously though guys... can you take whatever it is off my eyes? I'm not a big fan of the dark."

She slowly closed her eyes again and breather loudly, as if to contain a growing panic. Then it calmed down and became slower. "Ome? Ome!" I called out.

"She passed out." Said Mr Kusanagi. "She needs medical care right now. Seri?"

"Alright that's enough chatter." Said the lieutenant. "Men, take Doctor Shiranui to a hospital immediately! The rest of you out of the way!" Ordered the bossy woman.

SCEPTER 4 members took Ome away in one of their trucks along with other heavily wounded clansmen. In the meantime, I'd forgotten about Ryu and of course when I turned around to see, he was gone. I let myself sit on the ground and covered my face with my hand.

"You alright?" Asked Mr Mikoto.

"I'm tired. So so tired. And irritated." I answered, gritting my teeth.

"Take a break." Said my King.

"Huh?"

"You've done enough for a day. We'll handle the rest."

I didn't even have the will to argue. I just wanted to rest and forget. Forget these annoying unanswered questions that were torturing me, and that would probably never get resolved.

And I was completely unaware of Yata's eyes on me.

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 **Yata's POV**

It was a good call from Mr Mikoto. He was right, they didn't need a lot of people to clean up. The regular authorities would soon take over anyway, since the blues have been kicked out of their law enforcement position. Kamamoto, Mr Kusanagi and the others could cover for me, no problem. So why was I hesitating? I knew I couldn't let this whole thing end awkwardly like this. I was the one who messed up, so I had to do something about it. I couldn't even get my damn legs to move.

'A fucking coward, that's what I am.'

I suddenly felt a foot collide with my back and push me forward. I managed not to trip, and brandished my fist at the culprit.

"OW! What's your problem Saru!"

"You're annoying me. Stop self pitying already, it won't get you anywhere. Move your ass and do something about her."

I made a face. "How did you know..."

"I don't know what you did to her, but I'm pretty sure it's part of the reason why that idiot threw herself in the fire like this."

"That's your fault too! If you had told us..."

"We already had this conversation, Misaki. Stop trying to push your problems on to me."

I had no comeback for that, so I just shut my mouth and looked at Taiga. Yo was helping her stand up. She was still bleeding from the shoulder. Burn marks and bruises were covering her entire body, including her face. He eyes were red and a little swollen. She almost looked ten years older. Worried, exhausted, frustrated... I wanted to kill that bastard of a King and make him regret he ever met her. Darn it! She couldn't even stand up on her own. Saru kicked me again, pulling me out of my daze.

"OW! Would you stop that?"

"Pay attention. She's lost right now, and HOMRA's not a sufficient pillar for her. So do something dumbass... before I take your place."

"Wait, what?" I almost stuttered looking back at the blue clansman. I'm not the kind of guy who understands things quickly, even if if they seem obvious to everyone else sometimes. But this somehow just seemed too big to miss, even for me. And I actually wished I had.

"Saru, don't tell me you..."

"It doesn't matter." He interrupted. "That moron is in love with you. Butting in would be way too much trouble."

"You... really like her?" I said, realizing how serious he was.

"..." He sighed and closed his eyes. "Go, Misaki."

"Hold up, you can't just drop something like this on me and then tell me to get lost! How long..."

"And you might want to watch your back..." That creepy smile of his suddenly returned to his face. "If you don't take care of it soon, I might just take her from you."

Alright, that was it. "As if moron! She's already had enough creeps after her, no way in hell am I letting you near her!"

I turned my back to him. I knew he said that to make me mad, and of course it worked. Damn me and my short fuse! But I had to admit. This guy really knew how to push me in the right direction. Like I used to do for him in high school.

"Hey Monkey." I said without turning around. "Thanks."

I didn't him reply (he'd say something to piss me off again) and walked towards the rest of HOMRA. Mr Kusanagi was quickly looking at her wounds, and said something about it being superficial.

"You should be alright. The most serious thing you have is that flesh wound behind the shoulder. Can someone take her back to the bar?"

"Sure, I can." Said the biggest clansman.

"Hold up Kamamoto. I'll do it." I said, earning everyone's eyes. I felt my cheeks heat up when she looked at me though.

"Do...d'you mind if it's me?" I still asked just in case.

She looked down and stayed quiet for a little while, before shaking her head. "No."

Not even Chitose found something witty to say.

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 **Saruhiko's POV**

I sighed before heading towards the medic truc of my clan. "This is why I hate complicated stuff like relationships."

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 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **WARNING : Next chapter will contain a fair amount of fluff/romance/cuteness. If you are sensitive to any of those ingredients, it is advised to consult if possible a SSS (Shipping S** **yndrome Specialist) beforehand and/or bring a sufficient amount of tissues and anti-squealing material. You have been warned.**


	33. Chapter 31 : Breaking and Mending

**A million time sorry you guys! That was a huge delay, I'm so sorry. I hope you won't be disappointed! It's about time our favorite red couple gets the spotlight!**

 **ENJOY!**

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The slow pace of his steps was so gentle that I felt like I was in a cradle. His back was warm and shielding me from the cold of February. I would've never guessed that he'd just lost his flames. But my mind couldn't be more agitated. My head resting on his shoulders and eyes closed, I was actually trying to avoid sleeping. But I couldn't help this drowsiness. We'd been through hell and honestly, if I'd stayed any longer I would've collapsed. I was grateful to Mr Mikoto for sending me away. What was bothering me was not that Yata was the one taking me back, but the discussion we we're gonna have when we'd get back. He was as quiet as me.

"Yata..."

"We're almost there. You can rest a little more."

"That's not it. What happened to your skateboard?"

"Oh. I lost it during our fight."

That was the extent of that conversation. It was awkward but nothing us two shy weirdoes weren't used to. It helped avoid the more unusual subjects. Again we stayed quiet until we reached the bar. Yata put me down and told me to sit in Mr Mikoto's couch, which I did. I got rid of my shoes and socks. Yata went upstairs and came back with the first-aid kit. He sat next to me and place the metallic box on a chair. As he opened it his cheeks turned crimson, but still he said nothing. He applied disinfectant to my knees before placing bandages on them. I watched him, without really focusing, too lost in thought. He probably noticed because he fake coughed to get my attention. His face was even redder than before.

"Hm. You have to... take your shirt off." He said without looking at me.

I was way too tired and hurt to start acting self-conscious. But I felt my face turn red when I removed my sweatshirt and my T-shirt, leaving me only in my sports bra. I moved the buckle of the left shoulder, so he could have a good view of the cut and turned my back to him. I felt him press something cold on my wound which made me flinch in pain. I didn't know the little brat was this precise.

"It's not bleeding anymore, I don't think you need stitches."

'Of course not. Otherwise, Mr Kusanagi would've send me to a hospital to get stitched up.'

But I didn't say anything. It was the first time Yata took care of my injuries and he didn't seem bad at it. It was strange but not bad. Once done with my shoulder, he took some sort of white tube out of the box.

"Hey Yata? Do you think Yashiro and Kuro are alright?"

"Why wouldn't they be? Shiro's immortal. What could happen to him?"

"But he was only immortal because of his power..."

"Don't sweat it, he'll be fine. He's got the Black Dog and that weirdo cat strain."

My whole body tensed up when he applied the cold white substance to the burn on my upper arm, where the Green King's bolt had hit me. It was icy cold and the first contact was brusk, but as he rubbed it over my skin it felt really good.

"Here." Said the crow, handing me the tube. "For your other burn."

I put some on my stomach burn, and Yata waited for me to be done. I could feel his eyes on me though. I hurried and put my shirt back on, before turning around.

"Your turn."

I was surprised he didn't complain and took off his sweat-shirt and tank top, and showed me his back. His burn was a lot worse than mine. I sighed and applied the ointment on it. He didn't move at all. Either there was no pain at all which I doubted, or he was too preoccupied to focus on it.

"Taiga, do you hate me?" He suddenly asked out of nowhere.

That's the kind of questions you asked to make someone feel guilty. Not Yata though. As always, there was nothing but pure honesty in his words. "You have the right to hate me." He added.

I thought it was amazing that he started the conversation. "I don't hate you Yata. I can never hate you. I was angry with you. What you said to me... back then it really hurt."

"I made you cry again."

"Yeah." I admitted.

"... What can I do to make it fine?" He asked, like a kid asking how he could fix a broken vase. That's how he was, the crow of HOMRA. But he wasn't a child. He was a man and he couldn't act like this his entire life. It would come back to bite him in the ass someday. I didn't feel like forgiving him right now. Actually, I couldn't. If I said it, I wouldn't mean it. I had no right to because what had happened earlier had messed up my mind, completely. I tried to organize my thoughts before speaking, but failed miserably. I sighed.

"Yata... I don't know what to tell you." I put the ointment away and he turned around to face me, but I avoided his eyes and looked at the ground.

"Just be honest. Say what's on your mind, y'know..." He said, bracing himself for whatever acid-coated words he thought I was going to spit out. For some reason, that irritated me a lot. "I deserve everything you're thinking about me right now, so don't hold back."

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M THINKING!" I shouted out of the blue, making him jump a little. I covered my eyes with my hands, to hide whatever horrid expression I was making. "You have no idea how messed up my mind is right now."

I didn't have to look to know he was making a confused face. "I just found out that a friend I thought I lost is alive. That he existed for real! And he's alive. How do you think I feel right now? It's so unbelievable that my mind is in pieces."

A long silence followed. I felt my tears escape my face. I was confused, exhausted and sick of all of this. I took couple of deep breath to try and calm down a little. "No offense but you're the last thing I want to deal with right now. I need space. And a lot of it. From everyone."

I pulled my hands away from my face and didn't dare to look at HOMRA's skateboarding captain. I didn't want to see the face he was making. I grabbed my sweatshirt and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" He asked as I opened the door.

"For a walk. A long one. Tell Mr Kusanagi not to worry."

I wandered around for a very long time. I knew because by the time I reached the bridge of Ashinaka, it was already dark. My injuries were making me walk slowly too, but I couldn't care less about the pain. Ryu, Ryu, Ryu. That was all that was on my mind. I'd been in love with that Ryu. Then I was tricked into thinking he never existed. Then I fell in love with Yata. And now, I discover that my Ryu was real and living. How did I feel about this man now? How was I feeling about Yata? My feelings were torn and upside down and my own mind was torturing me. Why was this happening? Why couldn't Ryu stay a threat and an enemy to me, like he did for the past year? I clenched my teeth and kicked a rock in the water out of frustration. I didn't want to cry, this was pure frustration. And fear. I was scared of myself. Was it possible that I could still have those kinds of feelings for Ryu? I did know that I didn't hate him. I wanted answers from him, I wanted to know what happened to him. I still cared about him, a lot. Mr Mikoto was right, these bonds are impossible to severe completely. But did that mean that I still felt like I did back then? Even though it was completely different from what I felt with Yata. What kind of monster was I to do this to him?

"What do I do mom? How do I fix this?" I asked looking at the sky. "Reading others, I can do fine. So why can't I see inside myself?"

I kept wandering as these thoughts haunted me.

* * *

 **HOMRA bar**

When the rest of the red clan entered the bar, chatting about their exciting day and victory against JUNGLE, it was pretty late. The sun had gone to sleep hours ago. It'd taken them a long time to finish cleaning up the mess of the battle.

"Man, what a day! I'm beat!" Yawned Shohei.

"We even found Yata's skate." Exclaimed Kamamoto. "It feels like we didn't do too much though."

"But at least we won and the King is fine. That calls for celebration." Said Bando, before yawning as well. "Maybe Yata can cook something."

"Yeah, I'm too lazy to drag my butt home." Added Kosuke. "Can we stay over Mr Kusanagi? Just this once."

"Alright, but my bar better be in the same state as it is now when you leave." Warned the bartender, before turning around and seeing Yata. He was sitting in Mr Mikoto's couch, looking down, arms hanging, like he was a statue. He said nothing when they'd entered and his eyes were unreadable. They didn't have to ask to know the discussion between him and Taiga didn't end well.

"Yata? Are you alright?" Asked Kamamoto. "Where's Taiga?"

"Gone." Simply replied the crow. "For a long walk..."

"You let her go out with her injuries? Are you crazy?" Scolded Eric, who really wasn't one to reprimand others on anything.

The crow didn't answer. He clenched his teeth and grabbed his beanie that he lowered over his eyes. He was shaking, although wether it was fear or anger, no one could tell. "I hoped I was wrong... but what I said to her… I can't take it back."

All of his fellow clansmen looked at him, dumbfounded. Yata was a tough guy, depressed was the last word you'd use when talking about him. If he looked like that, it meant that he'd been hit hard. Taiga was the only thing he loved more than HOMRA. That's what he was. Hopelessly in love with her, and scared to death because he thought he'd lost her. They didn't know what had happened between them, but from Yata's current state, they could only assume the worst. They didn't know what to say to him. The only ones who looked relaxed were the Red King and Chitose. Mikoto took a step closer but the playboy placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. His face could only mean one thing : let me take care of this. The young man headed downstairs to the laundry, grabbed a red sweatshirt and went back upstairs. No one had moved while he went down. He ignored them.

"Hey Yata." He called out loudly, making the crow look up. He tossed him the sweatshirt that Yata caught by reflex. "Let's go for a walk."

"I'm not in the mood Chitose..." Started Yata, only to be interrupted.

"I'm not asking." Cut the playboy, putting on his own jacket. "Move your butt or I'm dragging you."

Less in a mood to argue than to walk, HOMRA's skateboarding captain sighed before putting on the sweat and following his fellow clansman out, grabbing his skate from Rikio. The others just looked at them leave, frozen. Mikoto crushed his cigaret in the ashtray and laid down on his now vacant couch.

"Is Yata gonna be okay, Mr Kusanagi?" Asked Kosuke.

"He needs help." Answered Bando instead. "They both do. But Chitose's in serious mode. He'll get Yata back on his feet."

"Chitose has a serious mode?" Asked Eric, doubtfully raising an eyebrow.

"You'd be surprised." Said Bando. "I had to see it to believe it."

"How do you know it's gonna work?" Asked Rikio.

"I have a feeling. So, who else is hungry?"

Meanwhile, Chitose lit a cigaret as Yata was slowly skating by his side. The two weren't talking. Yata was mindlessly following his comrade, feeling a painful emptiness inside his chest. On the other hand, Chitose was carefully looking at the crow, observing intensely. But he stayed quiet and kept leading him through the streets. When they finally reached the deserted parking lot. The one where they all trained during the first days of HOMRA, and where they trained Taiga since she joined.

"Why d'you bring me here Chitose?" Asked Yata.

"I figured you needed more than King and Mr Kusanagi to give you a pep talk." HOMRA's playboy leaned on the fence and blew smoke out of his lungs. "Tell me exactly what you and Taiga talked about. Word for word." He ordered.

"Why?"

"Just do it Yata."

The crow sighed, before repeating the conversation he had with the golden-eyed girl. Yo listened attentively and waited for him to finish before asking. "Do you love Taiga?"

Yata's cheeks turned crimson and he suddenly seemed to regain his former self. "W-what are you asking out of the blue?"

Unlike usual, Chitose didn't laugh or make any slick remarks, which surprised the crow. "Answer the question Yata."

Seeing his friend being serious for once, the skateboarder calmed down and looked away. "Yeah."

"What is it you like about her?"

"Why are we playing twenty questions?"

"Humor me. And try being specific."

Yata growled before rubbing his head. "Nothing specific... I like everything about her." He let a few seconds go by. "I like when she smiles, cause I'm sure she's happy when she does. Don't laugh but... I like when she makes fun of me. It's cute..."

"So you're a masochist?"

"Screw you, man! Why did you bring me here?"

"Sorry, sorry." Said the playboy. "Go on."

"Is there a point?"

"I wouldn't be making you doing it if there wasn't."

Yata sighed and sat down on his skateboard. "I don't like that she always throws herself in the fire for us. I don't like that she always suffers by herself and I can't understand what she feels. I hate that she still cares about that psycho. I don't like that she makes me feel stupid sometimes."

"She's not the only one. You are particularly stupid."

"I know that! Shut up! It hurts more because it makes me feel that if I miss something I'll loose her..."

"See? There are somethings about her that you don't like. Knowing that, you still love her?"

"What's your point?"

"Dude, did you ever see me say one negative thing about a girl I slept with?"

"No." Replied Yata, his face twisting in disgust. "You brag about it cause you're a perv."

"It's because I can't. I don't know them at all. I never remember their names or what they were wearing when we met. I probably wouldn't recognize their faces if I crossed them in the street. Makes me a pretty awful guy."

"You lost me."

"Compared to me, you're a great guy Yata. You know Taiga well enough to tell things you don't like about her, and you still love her. It may not mean anything to you, but I can tell that you guys are serious."

That last remark made the crow frown. "Did you think that we weren't?"

"Don't be offended. Everyone experiences dating at first, and Taiga was an easy pick for you because she was close to us, and the only girl you got used to. Plus you're the one who saved her, so she might have been biased when she picked you."

Anger suddenly rose inside the skateboarder. He sprang up and grabbed the playboy by the collar. "Don't talk about her like one of your sluts! She's not cheap like that!"

"Let me finish before you punch me." Said Yo raising a hand. "You guys are perfect for each other. I figured it out a while ago, but you confirmed it for me."

"Huh?"

"I'll simplify so you can understand. I know for sure you love her, so now I can tell you : she's crazy about you."

"Haven't you been paying attention?"

"She talked about Ryu and being confused and needing space from everyone. Right? Those are all signs of a guilty conscience."

"Guilty?" Yata released his comrade's jacket and looked at the ground. "What does she have to be guilty about? I'm the one who..."

"She fell in love with the Purple King in the past. Then he changed for weird reasons, and now he's back. She feels guilty because she thinks she might still have feelings for him. And she feels dirty for doing that to you. She's scared of facing you. That's why she walked away."

"She... she still loves him?"

"I don't know. What I do know, is that you're the one she was thinking of when she left. And you'll regret for the rest of your life if you don't go after her."

"When did you become an expert?"

"Believe it or not, the first girl I dated was the only one I really loved. I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with her. I took her for granted and she dumped me. You're too great of a guy to end up like me, Yata."

* * *

 **Water near Ashinaka, Taiga's POV**

The wind blowing in my face made me realize how cold it was. But somehow the rest of me didn't feel it too much. Those thoughts pulled me out of my sleep completely and I opened my eyes. In front of me, the water was reflecting the moonlight and the stars and waves were gently crashing on the edge. I wondered how I ended up here. I remembered walking to shake those thoughts off … and then laying in the grass. I didn't remember falling asleep though.

'I forgot how exhausting today was. But it's still night time, I can't have slept long... Still, I should be colder than that.'

I pushed myself up and realized that I had a coat on my shoulders. "Are you finally up?"

"Saru?" I asked, recognizing the person sitting next to me as the blue clansman. He was still wearing the same clothes as today, which meant he didn't go home to change. "Aren't you suppose to be in the hospital?"

"My leg's fine. And I hate those kinds of places. If I rest, it's at home."

I didn't know the concept of resting existed for him. Although, if he was here it meant he was hardly resting. That's when I realized he wasn't the only one who'd gone to get treatment. "Do you know how Ome and Lana are?"

"Blanchet got stitched up and left right after."

"WHAT?!"

"Don't shout, I'm not deaf." He searched his pocket and took out a piece of paper that he gave to me. "She gave me this for you."

I unfolded the sheet and read.

 _Hey Yoru, sorry for not saying goodbye in person but you know what they say about trails getting cold. As you've probably guessed, I lost my powers and Tux did too. In a way, I'm glad that we're rid of those. My head is much clearer than before. I'm going after Ryu again. Now that the twins are gone, I doubt you have anything to worry about. I'll find him, I promise. And when I do, I will tell you. Until then, take care of yourself._

 _Love, Lana_

 _PS : I'm glad you found where you belong._

Fast, rash, impulsive... this was Lana one hundred percent. I couldn't help but smile at the message. She really was one of a kind. I folded the piece of paper again and put in my pocket before turning to Saru again. "What about Ome? She was just out of the hospital..."

"She'll live." Simply replied the young man. "She was still nagging when I left, so she's fine."

Sounded like her. I turned my head and looked at the water. It was beautiful, peaceful and quiet. Saruhiko's presence was welcomed too. The whirlpool that was my mind a couple of hours ago, was now a lot quieter now, even though still agitated.

"What are you doing out here?"

"I..." I wanted to explain but nothing came out. "I ran away."

"From everyone. I needed space."

Saru looked at me for a long minute before asking. "Tell me why you came after me."

"Huh?" It was not like him to ask things like that. I was surprised. "Why else? I wanted to prove that you were still on our side. I couldn't imagine you as a traitor."

"I mean what set you off? It was him right? What did he say?"

I sighed. "He was pissed at me for defending you and... he told me I confessed to the wrong guy. I wasn't even mad at first. Just... shocked. I didn't know he could have such little faith in me..." I didn't see them coming, but tears escaped my eyes. "Why would he say that to me? What did I do him?"

"Misaki's an idiot. You should know that by now. If you're not with me, you're against me. That's how he thinks. He felt threatened, so he acted impulsively, like always. Especially because it was you."

"Why?"

"Sometime you are as dumb and clueless as him." Said Saru rolling his eyes at me. "You're his girlfriend. He was scared to loose you to me, it's that simple. Nothing was rational in his pea-sized brain."

"Don't be mean." I couldn't help saying that. "I really don't care about that right now."

"You obviously do."

"Shut up." Was all I retorted before looking at the water again. It's calm was irritating me now. I picked up a rock and threw it at it. It agitated the water and made the sky reflexion blurry. I was surprised that Saru didn't move. He was just sitting next to me, staring at the water, while I looked at him. Why did he pry? It wasn't like him at all. But it felt nice to have him near, him and his rational mind, casting away emotions. It kept me from thinking about Ryu. And Yata. And really, anything to avoid that was good.

"You're thinking about that bastard. That's why you're here instead of celebrating with the other idiots."

And there went my escape route. I didn't answer and looked down. I didn't want to think about it. Saru was not an idiot, he could tell by just looking at me that I wasn't feeling right. So why was he pushing it? It really wasn't like him.

"The one you're running from is Misaki, isn't it?"

"Saru, can you stop? I don't want to talk about that..."

"So you're gonna keep running? I suppose it's to be expected for someone as pathetic as you."

"Excuse me?" It wasn't unusual for him to insult me, but that was a little unexpected. I didn't think even him would kick someone who was already down.

"You annoyingly push everyone to act to find out what they want and to do what they should, but when it comes to yourself, you're just a coward who can't face her own feelings."

That was pushing too far. The anger was rising again, mixing with the fear. "What would you know? You're apathetic and bored with life, you wouldn't know what I feel would you?"

I instantly regretted spouting out these words. They were unfair and uncalled for. Before I knew it, I found myself pinned down on the grass, Saru holding my wrists against the ground and pressing his knee on my stomach to keep me from moving. For the first time ever, I saw emotions in his eyes clearly. He was angry. Very angry. I didn't know how to react and froze.

"S-saru?"

"You really piss me off." He growled. "You drown yourself in self-pity and leaving other people worried about your ass like you're so damn important." His grip tightened on my wrists, so much that it hurt.

"You don't understand..." I started trying to explain, but got interrupted.

"What I do understand is that Misaki's probably beating himself up over you because he thinks he made you run away. But you chose to run, like the coward you are."

"Stop it!" I said struggling to get out of the hold. I didn't want to hear this. It was too scary. But he was too strong for me, and I no longer had any aura to help me out. I was powerless against him. I was trying as much as I could to get these thoughts of Ryu out of my head, but having him hold me down like this, was the same as forcing me to think about it. But my struggling seemed to piss him off even more. He clicked his tongue, in annoyance.

He let go off one of my wrists and cupped my face before crashing his lips on mine, like he'd done today in JUNGLE's HQ. My mind went blank for a second and I didn't even think of struggling. That was horrible of him. But didn't I deserve to be treated like this? But then another wave of thought overwhelmed the first one. By hurting me, Saru was also hurting Yata. And that did not sit right with me. I already was hurting him, no one got to add salt to the wound. I pulled myself together and bit Saru's lower lip. He grunted and pulled away, letting go off my wrist and face. But he looked unfazed by what I'd done. His lip was bleeding.

"Is your mind clear yet? Or do you need more ?" He asked, with his usual annoyed look, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

I clenched my fist and threw a right hook on his face, getting him off me before throwing him an angry glare. "What the hell is wrong with you? That makes twice now!"

"Seems to work pretty well to get yourself together." He sat up and rubbed his cheek. "If you think Misaki's worth anything, face him like he deserves it, instead of making him feel guilty. I don't give a crap how messed up and confused you are. You don't get to push that on to him."

I let out a worried sigh. "But it'll hurt him..."

The blue clansman stood up and looked at the water. "So what? Once he figures out what he wants to do, he'll do it. What about you? What do you want to do?"

Saru was protecting Yata. That much was obvious. Something good must have happened between them during their fight against Sukuna. That made me glad. Very glad. And I had calmed down, although I wouldn't have been against Saru punching me instead of... doing that. I brought my hands together and focused on what I'd been trying to avoid all night. I was scared out of my mind to do it, but Saruhiko was right. Me running away won't solve anything and will make everything worst. And I knew one thing for sure : I wanted to love him. I was afraid that Ryu's return would change that. But that was no excuse. I took a deep breath and stood up.

"I'm not sure I should say this but, thank you Saru. I needed a reality check. And thanks for looking out for Yata. I'm really glad you're my friend."

Instead of responding with an insult or clicking his tongue on his teeth like I was expecting, he looked at me for a long minute. His eyes now showed sadness. So much that I couldn't help but ask.

"What's wrong?"

"You should go." He said turning away.

I got closer, knowing this was his stubborn self talking. "If you have something on your mind, I'll listen. I owe you that much." I said.

"Stop looking for an excuse to buy time. Go." He said, pushing me away.

Not insisting I turned around and started walking away, even though something felt out of place. "Taiga." He said. I stopped and turned around. "Give me my knife back." He said.

It didn't sound like an order, more like a plea. I looked at him curiously, before taking the short blade out of my pocket and tossing it at him. He caught it and with a sign of the hand told me to go on. I took a few steps back before turning around and walking away. I still turned around from time to time until he disappeared from my sight. I felt like I'd missed something important, but quickly evacuated it from my mind to focus on what I had to do now.

* * *

 **External POV**

Saruhiko Fushimi was a cold human being, if you could call him human at all. He had no interest in other people or their desires. He couldn't care less about getting along with them. If they didn't contribute to the greater good, then they were useless. All that mattered to him, was that everything didn't get too troublesome … Or so he'd like everyone to think.

Saruhiko Fushimi was nonetheless a human being. Wether he liked it or not, he was attached to his comrades. Wether he admitted it or not, he was glad he reformed a bond with his former best friend. Wether it pleased him or not, he was not insensitive to what happened around him.

The blue clansman stayed there a long time after the departure of the red clansman, staring at the starry sky's reflection in the water. No one other than the insects in the grass was here to see. No one would witness that one gesture that meant so little to the rest of the world, but was so important. To him.

He looked at the thin blade in his hand. He might have given her a different one each time she lost hers. But in that moment, that one was the symbol of his bond with her. He recalled the first time he met her in that bar, back when she was an insignificant existence to him like all the others. To think he'd been the one who'd built the bond first by giving this to her. He clenched the knife. No one would be here to witness the two tears that fell down his cheeks and joined each other on his chin before falling down. No sobs, no suffocating breaths … Just the tears. And when the sun would rise, he would go back to being the annoyed Fushimi bored with his life.

He brought the little piece of metal to his lips before he raised his arm and threw it as far as he could, until it fell in the water and disappeared in it's depth … along with this very irritating feeling that made his chest hurt, he hoped.

No one would ever know. That bond he had with a golden-eyed girl was his secret to keep. It would be a scar he'd carry for a long time. But it was for no one else to see. Because somehow, there was no regret to having this wound.

That first experience of love was his, and only his.

Painful and unforgettable.

* * *

 **HOMRA bar Taiga's POV**

When the bar was in sight, it was still lit. I took a deep breath before approaching. I saw my fellow comrades through the window. Mr Mikoto was on his couch napping. Anna was sleeping on his chest. Kamamoto was eating what looked like instant ramen. Mr Kusanagi was cleaning his collection of champaign glasses. Eric, Kosuke, Shohei and Bando were playing cards... I was surprised they weren't asleep after the day we've had. After another deep breath, I pushed the door and entered. Everyone looked up, even Mr Mikoto.

"Hi guys." I said, after a little awkward silence.

"Hey Taiga." Said Bando, smiling. "Feeling better?"

"Where's Yata?"

"Out with Chitose. They should be back in a few." Answered Mr Kusanagi. "Want a drink?"

"Sure." I said sitting at the bar. Mr Kusanagi poured something in a glass for me but I'm not sure what it was. I drank it. It burned my throat a little but it was not bad. No one dared to ask anything even thought their faces were betraying them.

"Guys, if you wanna say something, say it." I said. "Don't just stare at my back."

"Well …" Started Shohei. "Yata looked … pretty terrible when we got here."

"Yeah, I know. I have to apologize. I was awful to him."

I emptied a new glass that Mr Kusanagi poured for me. It made me focus on something else … until the door of the bar suddenly opened. Yo entered the bar, a smoking cigaret in his mouth. And alone.

"Sup' guys." He said before he saw me, and smiled. "Totsuka's building. He's waiting for you."

I didn't think twice about it and jumped off my seat before running out, and headed towards the building where Tatara Totsuka had died. I got there as fast as I could. I don't know why I was running though. I wasn't particularly more eager to expose my problems to him than before. But I still ran. I climbed up the stairs without slowing down, even though I was torturing my still wounded body. When I finally reached the roof, I found the red clansman. He was leaning on the fence, his back turned to me. For once he didn't have his beanie. Somehow, he had his skateboard back.

"Yata." I called out.

He turned around. I was expecting him to have that serious face of his, but when he turned around he looked more sad and resolute. I felt a smile stretch across my face. I was still very uneasy but, I knew what I wanted. He seemed surprised by my smile and then he sat on the ground, his back against the fence.

"Wanna sit?" He asked.

I walked over to him, and sat on the ground next to him. I took a deep breath and prepared what I was going to say. "Yata, I'm sorry about earlier. I ..."

A hand suddenly covered my mouth. "Let me talk first." He ordered. "Please."

It surprised me but I nodded and he removed his hand. The crow looked at the ground and sighed. "I said I was sorry. And I really mean it. This … thing I have with you … it's more important than anything else to me. I can't take back what I said to you..."

He stayed quiet for a minute. But I never took my eyes off him. The wind played with our hair and made goosebumps appear on my skin, but I ignored it. I waited for him to talk again. He looked at me straight in the eyes when he said that.

"You don't have to forgive me. But I don't need your permission to try and make it fine!" He shouted at me, so suddenly that I jumped back a little. "So I'm gonna make it up to you. I don't care if it takes the rest of my life to do it. I'll probably hurt you again, but I'll keep making it up to you! I'll make it fine because you deserve to be happy! Don't you ever doubt that! If you like that guy again, then I'll... I'll make you fall for me again!"

He was all red now and breathing heavily but he was still looking at me dead in the eyes. I stayed frozen, my mouth hanging open. Those words had broken the dam inside. A river of tears fell out of my eyes and I started laughing. Laughing harder than I ever had before. I hid my face with my hands, to try and contain the shame I was feeling. I really was an idiot.

"I give up on myself. You win Yata. You win."

All that fear had no reason to be here in the first place. I moved my hands away from my face and smiled at the red clansman. "I just can't help be in love with you."

His eyes widened in shock but contrary to what I expected he didn't turn all red. I closed my eyes for a second to wipe the tears off my face, when I felt both of his hands on each side of my face. By the time, I opened my eyes, there was no space left between our lips. I couldn't close my eyes, I was too astonished that he was the one kissing me. But that was not the most surprising. His eyes were closed, but tears escaped from them. They streamed down and fell on my face. Looks like I wasn't the only one who had been was it. I loved this guy. I loved this hotheaded, stubborn as hell, short fused, rude ass, sweetheart idiot. I closed my eyes and let him kiss me as much as he wanted. When he pulled away, he rested his head on my unhurt shoulder and wrapped his arms around me. He was like a scared kid after his first thunderstorm. Not gonna lie, I was no different. I hugged back. For a few moments, the rest of the world disappeared to me. I failed to notice that the first rays of the sun had started to appear. When he finally pulled away, he'd regained his embarrassed face.

"We should probably go back..." I said.

"Wait" He said, rubbing the back of his head. "Do you mind staying here... a little longer?"

"Actually no. I really don't."

Exhaustion had finally caught up to me. I yawned loudly. I was so beat, I could probably fall asleep right here. I looked at Yata, he also had bags under his eyes. We grinned awkwardly and laughed at each other. When tired, anything can make you laugh really. Yata then let himself fall on my laps. I tensed up. He must have been extremely tired to make that sort of move without asking permission or turning crimson. Well, his cheeks were still a little red.

"D'you mind?" He still asked looking up at me.

"No. Don't worry." I said striking his hair.

He relaxed and closed his eyes. "Hey Taiga?" He called out, with a sleepy voice.

"Yeah?"

He grabbed my hand that was massaging his head and brought it over his chest, squeezing gently, eyes still shut.

"Thank you... for loving me."

The blood rushed to my face, and I bit my lower lip smiling. I lowered my upper body until my forehead touched his. "Thank you too... Misaki."

* * *

 **Phew! That was a long, first, lover's quarrel! Next chapter, we learn what really happened to the Purple King as well as some tough revelations from the Silver King. As well as what will happen to the everyone now that they are no longer colored clans...**

 **And of course, more TaigaxYata to come! ;)**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**


	34. Chapter 32 : Explanation and Vacation

"Alright guys. This is it. Here are the facts : we're no longer the red clan. Our powers are gone and so are those of the strain criminals we were hunting down. The question is what to do now?"

It'd been a week since the battle with JUNGLE. Once more, all of HOMRA was gathered in the bar. For once Mr Mikoto seemed wide awake and an expression of melancholy was obvious on his face. Anna was sitting next to him, also paying close attention to Mr Kusanagi. I was sitting between Yata and Kosuke at the counter, and the rest of them were either standing or occupying the chairs of the room.

"Isn't it obvious?" Said Yata standing up, and clenching his fist. "That just makes us normal bounty hunters doesn't it? I don't even know why we're having this conversation! I mean, we can still fight!"

I looked at Yata, feeling the sadness show on my face. This discussion was suppose to decide if we'd dissolve HOMRA. We had to face it : we weren't the red clan anymore. And our sure source of income was practically lost. It would be like dissolving a family, but it was even worse for Yata. He'd built himself in this place and with these people, and very frankly he wasn't done growing. None of us were. For the crow, it'd be like loosing a big part of himself. Saruhiko saw it coming long ago, and I hated to admit that he was right.

Kosuke was the first to respond. "Sure we can fight, but there's no telling how hard it's going to be from now on. I mean we were specialized in strain hunting because of our powers and our only competition was SCEPTER 4."

"Kosuke's right. If we decide to keep at it, it'll be a lot harder and we'll have more competition." Continued Shohei.

"The pay won't be as good." Added Bando. "That's for sure."

"Who gives a crap about the money?!" Shouted Yata, slamming his hands on the table. "As long as we have enough to eat it should be fine! And since when have we been afraid of competition? We have the best damn network in all of Tokyo! What's important is that we stick together isn't it?!"

Something tightened in my chest, and for some reason I was sure Yata felt it too. I couldn't find anything to back him up. A long silent fell on the room and remained there for a while until Mr Kusanagi spoke again. "I want you all to take a moment to think. You guys are young, you got your whole life ahead of you. So try to think about what you want to do."

"You're only 27 Mr Kusanagi, you don't exactly qualify as old." I said, making everyone chuckle. At least, I'd managed to bring the tension down a little. I decided to start since the others seemed reluctant. "If we're talking about money, I guess I could be a translator. I am fluent in four languages. And I could learn more. It was my passion... before I met you guys."

"I thought for sure you would go for gymnastics." Said Rikio.

"I love gymnastics, but I hate competitions. You have no idea how vicious contestants can be. Almost as bad a ballet."

"Why ballet?"

"Contestants put glass shards in each other's shoes."

The fat clansman made a face, imagining the scene. "Still, didn't you do loads of them in high school?"

"Since I was part of the club I had to. School requirement. But language and reading have always been my passion. What about you Rikio?"

The red clansman grabbed his chin and took a minute to think. "I could work as a mechanic. I fix my own bike and I'm pretty good at it."

"If you kept your summer weight, you could definitely be a model." I joked, thinking of how much he became handsome and fit when the temperature went up and his appetite diminished.

"Ouch." Said Chitose. "That's cruel Taiga."

"What?" I said frowning, as I knew he was about to make a tasteless joke.

"Saying that to another guy when yours is standing right there? You're shameless."

"Look who's talking." Muttered Eric.

I didn't give Yo the satisfaction of turning around to look at Yata's probably depressed face and immediately snapped back. "Too bad. I'm into hotheaded skateboarders."

The crow perked up, his face turning crimson and steam almost came out of his ears. To save him from further embarrassment because of us, I kept the conversation going instead of arguing with the playboy again. "What about you smartass? How would you make money other than bounty hunting?"

"Hmmmmmmmm... I suppose I could get something out of my dates..."

"If you say host, I'm gonna stab you in the eye." I interrupted.

"Yeah." Said Shohei. "For you, that would literally be male prostitution. And that has got to be illegal."

"Well shit then. I got nothing."

"Quit screwing around, man." Said Bando elbowing him. "Both of us were thinking of opening a diner or something."

"For now, we all have plenty of cash to go on for a while without working." Said Mr Mikoto, interrupting. "We'll get a long break first. Then we'll decide."

"A break huh?" Said Mr Kusanagi. "It's not a bad idea. It's been a while since we've had any rest thanks to the Slates. But remember that in a month, we have to make a decision."

"The beach..." Muttered Anna, making everyone turn to her.

"Did you say something Anna?" Asked Yata.

"We should go to the beach."

That cute remark put a smile on all of our faces. It would be nice to go to the beach. I couldn't remember the last time I went. Although it was hardly the season. If we did go, it wouldn't be for water sports or tanning. But it would be really nice to look at the sea again.

"Any objections to our little princess's wish despite the season?" Asked Mr Kusanagi, even though the bartender already knew the answer.

We all looked at each other and shrugged, since we had nothing to say. The bartender sighed before smiling. It looked like he was also worried about the outcome of this conversation. Our King had managed to delay the question. I think it was mostly to give us a real break to relieve the stress of the past year. We all really needed vacation. Yata was the only one who seemed still lost in thought, his forehead was practically wrinkled, betraying the worry inside. I scooted closer to him until our shoulders touched.

"Hey." He looked up. "We'll be fine."

He sighed but nodded. The guys had started taking out the food for lunch when the front door opened. Mr Kusanagi was about to say that we were closed, until Kuro and Neko walked in. I jumped from my seat and went to hug my brother. They had disappeared since the battle with JUNGLE ended.

"Where have you guys been?" I scolded. "I was really worried."

"Sorry to have worried you." Replied the young samurai. He looked happy somehow. "We had to wait for someone to wake up."

All of us turned our attention to the door. In the doorway was standing a tall man with long light colored hair and wearing a strange outfit that was outdated (still looked great on him though). He was very handsome, and something about his smile seemed familiar.

" _Guten Tag*_ , Taiga." He said with a sweet and warm voice. "You look well."

The German was a dead give away and my eyes widened in shock. "Yashiro?!"

"WHAT?" Exclaimed the guys, as dumbfounded as me.

"Looks like you found your real body, Shiro." Said Mr Kusanagi. "Or should we call you Adolf K. Weissman now?"

"Don't worry, Mr Kusanagi. I'm still Shiro."

"Come in." Offered our King, who had bothered to stand up only to sit right back down.

"Thank you for your hospitality." Replied Kuro bowing. "We've brought someone else. Do you need help?" He asked to someone outside.

"I'm not crippled Kuro." Responded the familiar voice of a certain doctor. "Well, I am. But I got the hang of this."

"No you don't. You got out of the hospital two days ago." Replied the samurai handing his katana to Neko and stepping out, to push in the wheelchair in which Ome was sitting.

"I have to learn to do it alone at some point."

I froze when I saw that. Not only was she in a wheelchair, she had stitches almost everywhere and her eyes seemed to have lost their brightness. Like the light in them was gone. They had practically turned grey. Although, she still had that brilliant smile of hers and sounded as cheerful as usual.

"What's with the silence you guys? Do I have something on my face?" She asked joking. "I'm fine really, it's not as bad as it looks."

Her eyes weren't looking anywhere in particular. That practically confirmed my fear."Ome, what's wrong with your eyes?" I asked.

She smiled. "I'll be able to walk normally again in a couple of months if I don't strain myself. Bad news is, the green king's electrical aura fried my retinas."

Fried them. As in, they were unusable. She would never recover her eyesight.

"I know what kind of faces you're making right now. Don't. It's fine. It'll be a new way to 'see' the world. All in sounds and touch. Should be interesting."

"That means you can't perform surgeries anymore..." Said Kosuke, with a sorry expression on his face.

"Ah, don't worry about that." She brushed off as if it was no big deal. "I'm not out of options. Tokyo Central University of Medical Science has been harassing me to be a teacher there for years. I don't really need my eyes for that. And, not to brag or anything, but I'm a great teacher."

Ome Shiranui, the doctor, the professor, the eternal optimist... Not even something like this could crush her. But I doubted she could feel nothing about those losses. Ome loved her work and not just the Strain Society and her students. She loved saving lives, and being a surgeon was one of the best ways to do that. Now, not only had she lost her institute, she also lost the ability to perform the work she loved the most. Instead of rebelling against the world for doing this to her, she was smiling and reassuring us. I honestly couldn't stand it. I walked up to her and hugged her.

"It's okay not to be fine, Ome." I almost snapped.

She looked surprised for a few seconds before smiling again. "You're making it really hard for me to stay composed, Taiga."

"Then don't. Cry, shout, punch me, do something."

She smiled again, but tears fell out of her eyes, exteriorizing a small part of the sadness that was truly eating at her from the inside. I now knew what Yata felt when he looked at me and got angry because I wouldn't share what was wrong.

"I'll need an adjustment period, but I'll be okay in the end." Continued the ex-strain. "I'm not alone. I've got you guys, my students... So don't sweat it. I'll keep myself occupied and … rediscover the world I guess. It'll be fun."

I let her go and looked at her, that smile never leaving her face. Being an optimist was probably what kept her from breaking down. I envied her for it. How many times would I have broken down if some people hadn't given me well needed reality checks? The doctor wiped the tears from her face.

"Alright, enough sentimentality and fawning over me. On a more serious note, we came here to talk to you Taiga. About the Purple King."

Once more, a long silence followed and everyone was attentive especially HOMRA's skateboarding captain.

"You might want to take a seat. I'd ask if you want to hear this in private..." Started Ome.

"No." Interrupted Yata. "You tell her, you tell all of us."

I nodded in agreement which made both Ome and Yashiro sighed at the same time. We all sat down and focused on the blind doctor. But the Silver King was the one to speak.

"I think I know what happened to Ryu Karasuno. The reason he changed and became the monster that haunted you for so long."

They had my attention now. "Tell me."

Ome fake coughed a little and turned to where Yashiro was. "Are you sure you want to tell them the whole story."

"I can't keep it hidden forever. I learned a while ago that running away solves nothing." Replied the Silver king before turning towards us again. "Knock yourself out."

"A long time ago, back during world war II, I was a young and ambitious scientist in the German Army. I'll spare you the details but, that's when I discovered the Dresden Slates and their powers. At first I wanted to use them to unite the world that was being torn by war at the time. But the more I discovered the more I wanted to harness this power. And I did. I ended up releasing the powers of the Seven Color Kings into the world. But it still wasn't enough. I needed more and more power. People didn't listen to me, they didn't want to follow my ideal. I became angry with the world, so angry. If they didn't listen, then I'd make them. But the power I had acquired was never enough for me. So I tempered more and more with the Slates … until I did the unforgivable."

His hands were shaking. Whatever he was about to say must have been torturing him for years.

"I had a sister, Klaudia Weissman. She tried to stop me. And I killed her."

My heart tightened in my chest and I gulped. I wasn't the only one. No one expected the sweet, gentle, peaceful, almost delicate Silver King to have ever hurt even a fly. Heck, I would go as far as saying it was impossible for him to do something so horrible. But no one said anything and Ome continued.

"When Yashiro told me this story sometime ago, I decided to look deeper into it. I asked the previous Gold King, Lieutenant Daikaku Kokujoji, to let me examine the Slates. The carving in the Slates are Latin characters but most were incomplete. Most of them were erased and lost by time. I completed the ones that were left the best I could, and I was able to decipher a couple of things. First, the word Rex meaning King. And then, a small sentence. Septem peccata mortalia."

"Seven deadly sins?"

"Hold up, since when do you speak Latin?" Asked Yata.

"I speak French and Spanish. Both are Latin languages."

"There were a couple more I was able to decipher. Fatum, electio, maledictionem …"

"Destiny, choice and curse." I muttered, translating out loud.

The doctor continued. "The power of the Slates is dangerous, unstable and if you abuse of it, it kills it's host. I think each power carries a sin with it. And if a King doesn't find a good balance for it, it can turn them insane."

"Isn't that a little too much speculation, Ome?" Asked Mr Kusanagi. "I mean no offense to your research but it sounds far fetched."

"It is only a theory." She admitted. "It's not like I could run tests to affirm it. And now that the Slates are gone, it'll be impossible to confirm it. But I believe that so far, we've witnessed the KMS phenomenon three times."

"KMS?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"King's Madness Syndrome. That's how I called it."

"So the Silver King was the first." Said Kuro, bringing his hand to his chin. "Which sin did he fall prey to according to your theory?"

"Probably greed. Or power lust." Guessed Kosuke.

"No, not greed. Yashiro's goal was to unite the world, but people wanted to use the Slates as weapons to tear it apart even more. Power was not the thing he wanted. What he felt was anger. He fell prey to wrath." Explained Ome. "Someone would give into greed by wanting to take from others. And for lust, it would be the endless thirst for something and always wanting more of it. Sounds like anyone you remember, Red King?" Asked Ome.

Mr Mikoto didn't answer but he frowned and crushed his cigaret in the ashtray a little too brusquely. No one missed it, but personally, I had no idea which King she was referring to.

"The Colorless King." Said Eric, earning himself the attention of the room. "He took possession of my body once. I remember his thoughts. He wanted the powers of all the Kings."

Mr Kusanagi suddenly frowned. "Hold on. When Mikoto killed the Colorless King, he wasn't acting like himself. Are you saying that he was close to losing himself to wrath?"

"No. If something had taken your King, it would probably have been Sloth."

A couple of laughs escaped the red clansmen's mouths when they thought about their lazy King sleeping all day like a cat when there was nothing to do. But Ome was serious. "I'm not referring to your laziness, Suho. I'm talking about your devil may care attitude from when you were young. Before you met Izumo and Tatara."

Mr Mikoto was staring at her dead in the eyes, even though she couldn't see him. "They saved you from yourself, and building HOMRA was your purpose. Your power had a true reason to serve : protecting your clan. If you ask me, that's what saved you from the sin. Loneliness is a deadly ingredient for people with a lot of power. All the Kings I've arbitrarily diagnosed with the KMS, have killed someone impulsively, lead by the madness."

Everything she was saying made good sense, and Ome wasn't one to just speculate like that. Her life was ruled by science and facts. But something must have happened when she studied the Slates that convinced her that her reasoning wasn't wrong.

Anna who had been quiet and listening the whole time finally spoke. "Yashiro killed Klaudia. The Colorless King killed Tatara."

"And Ryu killed my mom." I finished. "You think he had KMS."

She nodded.

"But it can't be right. I mean, it is about the madness, but … Ryu wasn't lonely. Well he was when he was younger. But after we met, he made a lot of friends. He had a charm that made people easily take a liking to him. And I was always with him. I don't understand how he could've... become like that."

"Again, this is just my theory. Do you want to hear it?"

"Yes."

"He fell prey to Envy. A deep jealousy towards the rest of the world, towards anything and anyone you laid eyes on. That jealousy turned into the fear of loosing you, the first person who welcomed him. And that fear drove him mad."

Not even Yata had to brainstorm to figure out this one. But Yo was the one to say it. "He really was in love with you. Before you even realized you liked him."

I didn't want to linger on the subject and quickly went on. "So the KMS disappeared when the Slates were destroyed and their powers vanished. That does make sense. But how did you break free Yashiro?"

The Silver King looked at the ground while answering. "I don't know. I wish I did. But until Ome shared her theory with me, I never tried to think about this madness again."

"I won't say that my speculations on the link with the seven deadly sins are accurate. But it was my best shot at explaining the KMS. It's a real thing. It's your choice if you want to believe me or not."

"I believe you." I said immediately, earning myself a surprised look. The image of Ryu crying and pushing me away made a lot of sense now. I was sure of it now : he truly felt guilt and regret. And he was punishing himself for what he did. I sighed.

"Thanks Ome. Thanks Yashiro. For telling me this."

"The real question is what are you going to do about it now." Replied Ome. "I don't have my foresight anymore, so I can't exactly keep tabs on you and your stupidity anymore."

"Gee thanks." I growled. "I'm not gonna do anything."

"Okay... that was unexpected."

"Lana already went after him. And you know what, I'm not forgiving him. Not until he comes to look me in the eye and apologies. But even if he does, I'm not sure I'll ever forgive him. I need a lot of time. And I have more important things to worry about."

Yata was staring at me a little shocked. "That doesn't sound like you..."

"I can't ever regain the bond I had with him, not after all of this Yata. I have to move on." I explained. "Lana was right. I did find the place where I belong. Now Ryu needs to find a way to move on too."

My King frowned at me. "From where I'm standing, you sound like you think the exact opposite of what you're saying."

Damn, could they ever pretend to believe what I said? "I feel responsible for him, but I know I shouldn't."

"He heard what you had to say to him." Said Ome. "Now it's his move to make. Don't beat yourself up over him. Well now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with the board of the Society."

"We'll take you." Said Kuro.

"Thanks. You better mean what you said Taiga." She threatened.

"Cross my heart." I said.

The Silver clan left with Ome, thanking us once more for our hospitality. I let myself fall back in the couch and blew all the air I had in my lungs out loudly and slowly.

"You okay?" Asked Yata.

"Yeah, don't worry." I replied. "It's just that I feel useless."

Somehow I felt exhausted even though I hadn't done anything all day. It's crazy how the psyche can affect the body. Talk about the power of the human mind. I let myself fall on Yata's shoulder.

"You look tired maybe you should rest a little more." Said the crow looking at me.

"I did that all week. But for once I'm with Mr Mikoto. I need a nap."

"When did you guys get so comfortable with each other?" Asked Yo, making us realize that we weren't exactly alone. I felt Yata tense up under me and I could just guess how red he was. As for me, I was way too exhausted to feel too embarrassed even though my cheeks still turned red. To be honest, I was tired of the womanizer rubbing it in every time.

"So what?" I growled. "We're dating, I don't see the problem."

"Nothing wrong. It's just that you guys are getting a step closer to..."

"I swear to God, if you finish that sentence, you're gonna end up with a broken nose." I threatened.

Of course he just grinned and kept at it. "What's this Taiga? Could you be dirty-mind … "

I threw my fist in his face and he grunted, taking a couple steps back and bringing his hands to his nose. I'm pretty sure I heard something crack. A drop of blood leaked on his chin as he threw me a shocked look.

"She warned you." Said Bando shrugging.

I sighed and looked at my fist. "Great. You guys are rubbing off on me more than I thought."

"How's that a bad thing?" Protested Shohei, a little offended.

"I'm suppose to be the cool-headed one. Like Mr Kusanagi. It won't work if I resort to punching you guys every time one of you pisses me off. That's your thing."

The bartender chuckled from behind the counter. "Don't worry Taiga. Even I loose my cool with you undisciplined brats."

"That was cheap Mr Kusanagi." Said Yo as he grabbed a handkerchief from Bando's pocket to stop the bleeding. "I think you broke it for real."

"Poor baby." I said, rolling my eyes.

Kosuke and Shohei laughed a little. "Dude, I think Taiga's immune to your teasing now."

"It's fine. I still have Yata. Hey skateboarding captain! Are you a good kisser?"

"Don't use me for your entertainment!" Shouted the crow, his cheeks still red.

"You guys are noisy." Said the Red King, laying down on his couch. "Pipe down."

"So what do we do now?" Asked Rikio.

Everyone stopped moving and we all got lost in thought for a minute. Then Anna and I glanced at each other before declaring at the same time.

"We go to the beach."

I have to say, we really earned a long vacation.

* * *

* German : _Hello_

* * *

 **Well, looks like we finally know what happened to Ryu. Is he really going to disappear forever?**

 **Hey guys! Fair warning, next chapter might be the last. *might!***


	35. Chapter 33 : Embers and Rebirth

**HI GUYS! GOOD NEWS : this is not the final chapter. Let's see how our favorite people enjoy their vacation day.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

I snuggled up against the warm, soft form that was near me, half awakened from my sleep. It had been a while since I got this cold. After loosing the red aura, we all sort of rediscovered the sensation of cold. Getting goose bumps, muscles tensing up, teeth chattering... they weren't exactly comfortable but it was somehow nice to rediscover it. Because it also meant we could warm up by cuddling to … whatever it was I was hugging. I was starting to get pulled from my sleep but I really didn't want to open my eyes. It felt like my dream wasn't over. However, I couldn't seem to remember what that dream was about. I hugged the warm thing harder, trying to spread the warmth to my entire body. It was so comfortable, I wished I could stay like this for an eternity. But something warm snaking around me, seemed to wake me up even more and pulled me out of my sleeping state. I internally growled before slowly opening my eyes. It still took me a moment to remember where I was. We were in movement, and in a cramped space. I recognized the inside of one of the two minivans we had rented. Why had we rented them again? Oh right. We were going to the beach. Of course the blonde man driving was the bartender. I looked beside me. Shohei was leaning his head on my shoulder and was sound asleep. In between him and the window, Kosuke was asleep too and leaning against the window. And at our feet, someone rolled up in a cover (who I assumed to be Eric) was snoring. I pushed Shohei away, and straightened up only to realize that the warm thing I'd been snuggling to was Yata who, thank heaven, was knocked out like the rest of them and snoring lightly. He seemed to shiver a little so I put the cover back on him. It was pure luck that Yo was in the other van. He never would've let me hear the end of it. I yawned loudly, catching Mr Kusanagi's attention.

"Hey Taiga." He said smiling at me. "Did you sleep well?"

"I'm still sleepy." I replied as I looked at the boys around me again and realized something. "No wonder Eric's on the floor. Why is there five of us sharing a three-seat row?"

The bartender chuckled. "Look behind you."

I got to my knees and looked at the backseat. When I found the three seats in the back occupied by our King who was also lost in sleep, the only thing I could say was. "Oh." I couldn't help but smile when I saw Anna sleeping on his chest. I reached down to pick up their cover that had fallen down and put it back on them. Mr Mikoto probably didn't care about the cold, but Anna did. After babying everyone I pushed myself to the empty seat next to Mr Kusanagi.

"Have you been driving this entire time, Mr Kusanagi?"

"I don't mind."

"You should. It's been eight hours." I said. "Do you want me to take over?"

"And since when do you have your license?" He mocked. "Really I don't mind. I'll just let you guys do all the work when we get there."

"Smart." I said.

"I am the strategist of HOMRA. Give me some credit."

We shared a quick laugh before my stomach growled. I grabbed the bag that contained food that Mr Kusanagi probably bought while we were all in dream land. I gave him a coffee and grabbed a meat bun. I silently chewed on it, while thinking about HOMRA again. What was going to happen to all of us? I mean we all had ideas of what we could do if the gang fell apart but … did we really want to end things here?

"Mr Kusanagi?" I asked, mouth full.

"Hm?"

"What would you do if HOMRA got dissolved? I just realized that no one's asked you..."

He seemed surprised by my sudden question, and got lost in thought for a moment and then smiled. "Well, Mikoto can't take care of himself so I'll probably have to babysit him until he gets himself a wife. Someone has to look after Anna too. And for the income, my bar will probably get a lot of costumers once you guys aren't around anymore."

"Maybe you should look for a wife too." I said only half-joking though. Yo was the one who teased people about their relationships, not me. "Someday, you might want to start being serious about lieutenant Awashima."

He gave me a surprised, almost shocked face. "You mean you couldn't tell I was serious? I'm offended Taiga." He sweat dropped.

"Maybe the lieutenant is more observant than I am but you should still be careful."

"Look at you, talking like you're more experienced with love than I am." He said ruffling my hair.

"Hey stop it!" I said, pushing his hand away. "I already have bed hair. I just wouldn't want you to miss your chance when it's real."

"Chitose's right. You are more straightforward about your feelings."

That comment still made my cheeks turn red and I turned my face away. "Well we are dating. I can't be shy about it forever." It was still pretty embarrassing.

"I doubt our Yatagarasu will ever stop blushing for you. But honestly Taiga, no matter how much the boys tease you, you can't imagine how grateful we are to you."

I sighed. "I thought I said all your debts were off now. When you talk like that, you make me feel like I'm not part of the gang."

"That's not what I mean. We're grateful for Yata."

"Why? I didn't do anything." 'Besides falling for him.'

"Because he's got something more than HOMRA now."

I meditated on that comment for a moment. Saruhiko had said something like that too a while back. I was overjoyed to mean so much to him and honestly couldn't be happier. But there was a more in that sentence than appeared at first. We weren't just talking about Yata, we were also talking about HOMRA. The thought brought gray clouds in my mind. HOMRA probably meant more to me than my life with Ryu ever did. They'd been my shield, and they'd become my gang, my family. I started suspecting that fate was a real thing and that I found the place where I belonged. But the way that Mr Kusanagi said it implied nothing good.

"You think we're going to dissolve." I said.

"Yes." Replied the bartender with a sad voice.

He didn't elaborate. But maybe I didn't need to hear his reasoning. We didn't have our powers anymore, what did that make us? A group of young people in their twenties (aside from me and Anna) that knew how to fight, had one of the best underworld network in Tokyo and were very close. If we were gonna keep bounty hunting, the time to do it was now, while we were young and strong. But at the same time, maybe the guys wanted to try new things with their lives and get away from all the Kings and clansmen business. I suppose in the end it all came down to Mr Mikoto's decision dissolving the gang or not. If he didn't those who'd want to stay would stay and those who'd want to leave would leave. I know Yata would stay. Anna would stick to Mr Mikoto. I wasn't so sure about the others though. I knew their hobbies and some of the things they'd like to try, but I didn't know how deep their motivation was for those things.

"Are there things you want Taiga?" Suddenly asked the bartender.

I took a deep breath before answering. "Well, there are things I want to do. I've been thinking about it for a while and I'd like to move my dad's grave next to my mom's with Kuro."

"What about the Purple King?"

"I want to look for Ryu, but … that'd be the same as chasing after my past. Ome's explanation convinced me. If the Slates gave him KMS, then he's the only one who can pick himself up now. I just hope... things turn out well for him."

Mr Kusanagi stayed quiet for a while. "You really are kind."

"No I'm not. I haven't forgiven him." I reply very seriously. "I can't. Maybe in a couple of years or … maybe never."

We heard a loud yawn and then a pair of harms hugged me from behind my seat. Eric's tired face popped in the rearview mirror. "What's happening in a couple of years or never?" He asked still sleepy.

"Nothing. And why are you clinging to me?" I said as I freed myself from his weak hold.

"I'm hungry. Can I have some food?"

"What's the magic word?" I said, annoyed. He really had a tendency to let himself go when it came to basic forms of verbal politeness.

"Don't be mean …" He whined.

I laughed at him and took pity on his pouty cat face. The boys woke up one by one and we ate breakfast. And when we arrived, the only ones still asleep were Mr Mikoto (no surprise there), Anna and Yata. After shaking them awake, we all grabbed our stuff and stepped on the sand. It was cold, and windy. All of us were wearing ski undershirts to avoid freezing, but somehow everyone smiled when we laid eyes on the endless body of water. It was also a beautiful sunny day and the sunlight was reflecting off the water, like diamonds. And since it wasn't exactly, tourist season we were the only ones on the beach. I stared at the shiny water while the wind played with my hair. When was the last time I'd gone to the beach? Probably with Mom during the summer when I was younger. Before we had to move to the city.

'I hope you can see this from heaven, Mom.' I thought.

"Well, I'm getting the stuff ready for lunch."

"Already?" I said. "We literally just ate breakfast, Rikio."

"I'm just getting the stuff out, that's all." He said clearly not hiding the fact that he wanted to be near the food. "Yata, give me a hand when lunch time comes up."

"Sure, whatever." Replied the fierce Yatagarasu before yawning loudly like a cat just woken from his sleep. Which he technically just had.

"Just make sure you leave enough food for all of us, Kamamoto." Said Mr Kusanagi, lighting a cigaret.

Even Mr Mikoto, who I honestly thought would've gone right back to sleep under the warm covers once we were done setting up. But he was standing with us, a smoking cigaret in his mouth, admiring the ocean with us. I smiled. I was so happy to see our King like this. But the happiest of us all, was our little red princess. Anna was usually a quiet child that mostly kept to herself, but right now the huge smile on her face was so bright that it lit up her face. She grabbed my hand and started pulling on my arm.

"Taiga!" She said, her eyes wide open.

I understood immediately. For once, she was just a little girl who wanted to play. I let her pull me and we both kicked off our shoes before stepping into the freezing water. And that's how most of our day went. We made giant sand castles with Anna. Yata and Rikio made us a delicious barbecue for lunch. We played beach volley with the guys, even Mr Mikoto and Mister Kusanagi joined in. Then I almost caught pneumonia when Yo tossed me in the water, earning himself a good beating from Yata. Thankfully, I'd brought spares. Then we sparred. In the sand, it was much harder than on the concrete floor of the city. Everyone got sand in their mouth at least once. Then I went with Eric and Kosuke to buy warm drinks for everyone. By the time we came back, the sun was starting to set. Soon after the guys lit a fire and Yata made dinner for us. We laughed and made fun of each other while eating. Then of course, Mr Kusanagi had brought booze for everyone and after a couple of drinks, everyone had red cheeks and was talking nonsense. Anna and I were making marshmallow sandwiches with chocolate.

"Hey Taiga!" Called out Yo, way too loud despite the fact that he was sitting a few feet from me. "Next time we come here during the summer, you should see Yata surf! He's pretty good!"

"Huh?! What d'you mean pretty good? I'm awesome! Handsomely good!" Shouted the crow, who clearly couldn't hold his liquor too long. I laughed at how pitiful they looked.

"Grab a bottle!" Shouted Yo. "This is suppose to be a fun evening for everyone!"

"Encouraging me to underage drink? I swear, how do you guys stay out of jail?" I replied, mocking him.

"I already made you drink alcohol though..." Whispered Mr Kusanagi.

"And here I thought you were the responsible one." Said Mr Mikoto, smirking at the bartender.

"Taiga, how are you such a goody... two shoes after living with us for almost a year?" Asked Rikio, before burping loudly.

"We can't all be carefree and reckless. Some people have to be cold headed." I replied. "Gross, by the way."

Eric let out a long and heavy sigh. " _You should have joined SCEPTER 4 if you were gonna be a stick in the mud._ " He said in english.

" _Well_ s _crew you, then._ " I replied in the same language, vexed. Geez, even when he was drunk he was rude.

"Huh?" Let out Yata. "What d'he say?"

Kosuke translated. He seemed to be holding up. "He said Taiga should've joined SCEPTER 4."

"That's stupid! You're stupid Eric! Taiga's a red and she's even redder. Cause she sjabfkbck... my girl."

The King and the bartender laughed quietly at the ridiculous scene that was playing out. I was about to reprimand them, when I realized that I was the one trying to argue with drunken boys.

"You should be aloud to have fun too..." Said Shohei, slowly and apparently loosing his articulation capacities du to the alcohol. "You're HOMRA too!"

"Do I have to remind you guys that there is a twelve year old here? That's one hell of an example you're showing her." I said even though Anna had probably seen them drunk and acting like idiots much more than me and she probably didn't care.

"Do you mean the one that's just about to fall asleep in your arms?" Commented Kosuke.

I looked down. Anna had been sitting on my crossed legs for the entire evening and had indeed stopped making marshmallow sandwiches. She was leaning on my chest and seemed to be struggling to keep herself from going to sleep. Bando went to the cars to get her a blanket that I wrapped around her. He also came back with a guitar that he gave to Yo.

"Alright! Music time!"

"Don't overdo it Chitose." Warned Mr Kusanagi. "Anna's this close to falling asleep."

"Promise. And I think you'll like this one." Said the womanizer as he started tuning the instrument.

When he started playing, I noticed that all the eyes had turned to him, and a familiar air of sadness appeared on all of their faces. I was shocked. It was like this music had sobbered them up instantely. Mr Mikoto and Mr Kusanagi both had the reflex to take out new cigarets but didn't light them. The melody seemed joyous and calm at the same time. After a couple of measures, Yo started singing. Masaomi picked up with him. Then Kosuke and even Eric. Before I knew it all the guys were singing. I listened to the words. They weren't especially sad, but the way they sang made it obvious that that was exactly what they were all feeling.

 _The crossroad where people would walk and stray,_

 _It's where we both met that day._

 _Looking up at our same longing eyes,_

 _We stared ahead, of our time…_

 _I didn't mind the ups and downs,_

 _As long as you were around._

 _You need to bravely face the mistakes,_

 _That's all it would take._

 _Facing all those trials too,_

 _I wanted to protect you._

 _Like the sun that would shine an evening red,_

 _Taking the words I would have said._

 _A sepia moon in the sky,_

 _Taking us into its bright eyes._

 _The things we held so close,_

 _The warm bonds we cradled._

 _Even when together,_

 _I wished it last forever…_

When the song ended, I realized that my cheeks were wet from the tears that had fallen down my face. Their faces had made me so sad that I'd started crying. I wiped them from my face.

"That's a nice song."

"It's called Circle of friends. Tatara wrote it." Explained Mr Kusanagi. "It's very important to us."

"I see..." I said lowering my head.

I understood better why they were making those faces. But they seemed somehow relaxed now. I took a look at Anna who'd fallen asleep for good in my arms. Without a word, Mr Mikoto stood up and walked over to us to take her from my arms. He said he was beat anyways and was going back to the van to sleep. The rest of us stayed near the fire, quietly. The boys didn't even seem to want to finish their beers. 'Looks like that song really did sober them up.' I thought impressed. I looked up at the sky. Unlike in the city, the stars were very visible is the pitch black sky. It was gorgeous. We started chatting again, quietly this time though. Some of them started snoring, being knocked out by the alcohol. Before I knew it, I closed my own eyes and fell asleep on my towel, thinking about the lyrics of that song. "I wished it last forever...huh?" I whispered before letting sleep take me.

I didn't sleep for very long. My sleep must've been pretty light. When I opened my eyes, it was still pitch black and only embers remained in the fire. There weren't many of us left up though. Most of the guys were snoring, and Mr Kusanagi was gone. Probably sleeping in the van as well. The only ones still up were Yo, Kosuke, Masaomi and Yata. From what I could hear from their conversation, they seemed to have sobered up a little. I pushed myself up.

"Why aren't you guys sleeping?" I asked, joining them.

"Don't wanna. And my head hurts..." Mumbled Yata. "What about you?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. I just woke up randomly." I looked around. The ocean was calm and the moon was reflecting prettily off the surface. About a mile away, I could see huge rocks in the sand. Kind of like miniature cliffs. I turned back to the guys.

"I'm gonna go over there. Anyone up for walking off the alcohol?"

They looked at each other before shrugging and standing up. The five of us walked on the edge of the water, barely talking. The sound of the crashing waves was a real delight. I knew the boys were enjoying too, because they never said a word and looked at the water. The only one looking down was Yata. He was clearly troubled. No. That wasn't it. It was sadness. We finally reached the rocks. They were bigger than what I thought. About fifty feet I guessed. I was terrible at estimating heights. But somehow, I felt a challenge coming from it.

"I wanna climb it." I said before running towards it to get closer.

"Wait, Taiga! Hold up." Said Yata, running after me.

I examined the rock, to find sure footing and started climbing quickly. At first it was pretty easy, and I was climbing remotely fast. I quickly climbed half of the way.

"Oi! Be careful." I heard Yata shout. "It's dangerous."

"I fought crazy psychos with supernatural powers and you think this is dangerous?" I said laughing, but without looking down.

"I'm serious!" He said back. "You don't have your powers anymore."

"He's right Taiga. Watch it." Said Kosuke. "Geez, what's gotten into you? You're acting like a kid."

I ignored that last part and focused on climbing. They said it themselves, tonight we could all enjoy ourselves. It had suddenly become more difficult because I couldn't see clearly where to hang on to anymore. My speed was considerably slower than before and I started feeling tired. I was almost at the top when I realized that there was nowhere else I could put my foot on, or reach with my hands. Yep, I was in a pinch and my arms were starting to get tired.

"Hum, guys?" I called out, with an apologetic smile. "I'm stuck."

I heard Yo sighed. "And I thought Yata was the idiot."

"Hey!" I protested.

Kosuke hit Yo behind the head. "Hang in there for a sec." He said, as he starting pulling up his sleeves. "I'll help you down."

But before he could even bring up his second sleeve, HOMRA's skateboarding captain was already climbing. He reached me so quickly, I found myself impressed by his climbing capacities. I mean Yata was already an expert in combat, skateboarding, breakdance and other fields that required physical strength. 'I guess I can add climbing to the list.' When he reached me, I apologized.

"Sorry for the trouble."

"Gimme your foot." He ordered.

I did as I was told but to my big surprise, he placed it on his shoulder, his hand holding my ankle still. I gave him a confused look. With a sign of the head, he pointed to the top of the rock. I understood he was helping me get to the top. We were very close.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I'm not that light."

"I've carried you before. Don't sweat it." He replied. "Hurry up before you fall."

"Okay. If you say so."

I put my weight on his shoulder and pushed myself to grab the edge of the top and pulled myself up. In a couple of stylish acrobatic moves, the crow was standing next to me. I looked at the sea and didn't regret for a second having reached the top. It was even prettier from up here. We could see the entire sky reflect off the water, stars and all. I looked at Yata. I was sitting down and he was standing. The wind was making his hair and sweatshirt dance as he looked at the sea as well with a serious face. That sight was majestic, I couldn't look away. It made me feel like he was so much greater than me. He noticed my staring and gave me a curious look.

"Why're you staring?" He asked.

"Nothing. You look... great from down here that's all."

Even the dark couldn't hide his blush. "T-thanks I guess. You ... look great too."

"Thanks for helping me. It's beautiful."

"Yeah, don't do that again." He suddenly snapped. "I almost had a heart attack. What if you'd fallen on your head, huh?"

"Sorry. It was a little stupid."

"Not just a little." He mumbled as he sat next to me.

"Hey!" Called out Kosuke's voice from down there. "We're gonna head back! If you guys have trouble getting down, just yell!"

"Alright thanks!" I replied waving.

Despite the dark I couldn't miss the smirk on Yo's face. I threw him a death glare, daring him to say what was on his mind. But he just made a salute sign with his hand before turning back and walking away with Masaomi and Kosuke. Yata and I stayed quiet for a while, admiring the sea.

"I can't take my eyes of it. It's so gorgeous." I couldn't help but say.

"Too blue for my taste." He replied with a quiet voice. "Too dark."

He wasn't referring to SCEPTER 4. Only to the fact that it was missing red. And light. The red and the light of a beautiful fire. I new the reason for this sad look. No matter how thick headed he was at times, he was strangely intuitive. He'd probably came to the same conclusion as Mr Kusanagi. HOMRA was going to break soon. I threw my arms around him and leaned my head on his shoulders. He didn't tense up for once and grabbed my arm and pushed it closer to his chest.

"We're gonna be fine Yata. No matter what happens."

He didn't reply and just placed his free arm around me. There was a distinct lack of embarrassment in his movements. After all, we were alone, in the dark. Only the moon could see us. I felt him shake a little and something wet and warm dripped on my arm. I tightened my hold on him. Guys really were stupid. Why did they feel the need to hide their pain until they reached a breaking point? I wanted to laugh at myself for saying that. I really wasn't one to talk. I held him quietly for a few minutes until he took a deep breath which made me let go and look at his face. I was surprised to find him smiling and staring at the water.

"You know what? We ARE gonna be fine. You and me. Powers or not." He declared, as what was left of his tears were taken by the wind. "I got you, so I'll be fine. I promise."

'Tough guy.' I thought.

We got back to back and then leaned completely on our backs, looking at the sky, our heads next to each other.

"Hey Yata?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Will you teach me that song? The one Tostuka wrote."

"Circle of friends? Yeah sure. I'm not the best singer though. You should ask Shohei."

"Don't be ridiculous. I heard you earlier. And you were drunk."

"Yeah, well, whenever you want."

"Cool."

He stayed quiet for a few seconds before speaking again. "Hey, do you remember that mission where that strain took control of your mind?"

"Yeah. That was crazy. And it was the first mission I ever went on with you guys, too. I almost killed you." I said remembering that not so glorious time of mine. "It was one of the scariest moments of my life."

"Mine too."

"Why are you bringing it up?"

"It's not like I'm trying to be selfish or anything... It'd be nice if we're never caught in a mess like that again."

"You got that right." I commented.

Our hands found each other at the same time, and our fingers intertwined together. It was freezing but all sensation of cold was gone. For me at least. His hand was so warm.

"Taiga... I got no idea what I want to do next." He suddenly confessed. "I mean I'm not good for much aside fighting."

"That's not true." I said. "You're an amazing cook. You could probably open up you're own restaurant if you wanted. And you're ripped like nothing I've ever seen! Someone like you can easily do work that requires good physical strength. Like being a bodyguard. Also, the drug-busts unit of the police could be a thing."

He made a face. "I don't really like it when you have to obey every single order you're given without having anything to say about it."

"I can't believe I'm saying this but, as long as you get the job done they shouldn't complain."

He threw me a surprised look before grinning. "Get out. You're telling me to break rules?"

"Hey, I have to be bad sometime. I'm dating a thug." I replied, shrugging. "I gotta adapt."

He chuckled before looking back at the sky. "Mr Kusanagi told me you wanted to move your old man's grave."

"That's the plan."

"Then, I'll help you with that first. Count on me!"

There it was, that joyful, over pompous at times, voice of his. It seemed that Yata was back to his usual self. He wasn't that easy to break. Planning ahead like that was probably something new to him, master fore runner. But it was proof that we could become even more than we were and move on, even if we lost our beloved HOMRA. And that made me really happy. I turned my head to look at him. I really loved his face.

"Hey, look over here." I said.

The instant he turned to me, I pressed my lips against his gently. I closed my eyes and felt him kiss back. The heat of our faces blushing made shivers travel down my spine. I really could get used to this. HOMRA might be gone tomorrow, but that flame of ours certainly wasn't done burning.

* * *

 **Hey guys! So yeah, I managed to delay it one chapter but unfortunately the end is near. BUT FEAR NOT! Next chapter will close the story, but I'm planning to do bonus scenes and you guys are aloud to give me suggestions! For example, Taiga's first mission with HOMRA, how Taiga and Ryu met, Kyoko and Ichigen's story, or an original idea you'd like to see with my characters... really feel free to suggest whatever you want and I'll try to make as many as I can!**

 **Thanks for reading. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	36. Chapter 34 : Phoenix Ending

**Hi guys! Sorry, I know it's been forever. And unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. So this chapter is the closing chapter of the story. I made it extra long and extra sweet for y'all!**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **7 YEARS LATER**

"I don't care what he wants, Saru!" Shouted Yata at his wristwatch. "That guy's a bastard. All he cares about is to get more cash into his account!"

" _He's a client Misaki."_ Replied the annoyed voice of his partner on the other side of the phone. _"If we turn down all our clients we'll go broke."_

"As if! The cash you make is enough to feed all of Shizume for an entire year, Mr professional government hacker."

" _Don't use me as a cash cow, you lazy ass."_ Replied Saruhiko, even more irritated than before. _"Just because we're partners, doesn't mean you get to slack off."_

"Not the point, Monkey. I'm an infiltrator, not a bodyguard for scumbags. "

" _Stop acting like a kid, Misaki. If you get into his house, you can get me something to serve as proof for the cops, that's why I took the job."_

"Tch. Fine, I'll do it." Growled the angry man. "You haven't changed one bit, not telling me a thing and planning on your own..."

" _I was going to before someone went hysterical on me. As always."_ The hacker sighed on the other side. _"How the hell does your wife put up with you all day? "_

"Shut up." Retorted Yata. "So are you still at the office?"

"On my way for lunch."

"Another client?"

"Ome."

"Again?" A grin appeared on the chestnut-head's face. "Wow, you're really serious about her, aren't you Saru?"

Instead of an answer, all he heard was the beeping that signaled the end of the call. Yata pulled the watch away from his face which twisted in frustration. "Well, fuck you too Saru." He said as lowered his arm.

"Misaki Yata!" Called out a voice from the end of the hallway, which made him look up. "If I see you use that filthy mouth in front of my kids, you'll eat outside."

Yata's face lit up when he saw the woman walking towards him. She was wearing black jeans, flats, an elegant turquoise shirt and a simple golden necklace around her neck. Her straight caramel colored hair was cut just above her shoulder. It'd been a long time since she cut them, and she'd never let them grow back. But what did he care? It suited her just as well. Her golden eyes glistened in the sunlight, giving her that stunning stare she'd always had. Yata couldn't help but smile despite the fact that she'd just scolded him. Then, as if too impatient to wait, he pulled himself away from the wall he'd been leaning on and walked towards her. They stopped when they were less than a foot apart. And despite scolding him, she was smiling as well. And that made him blush. He rubbed the back of his head when responding. Men, she was driving him crazy like a teenager for his first love. Well, technically she was.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. "We were suppose to meet at home."

"I had nothing to do so I thought I'd pick you up." She replied, before looking at him from head to toes and sighing. "Yata what's the point in me doing your tie every morning, if you're just gonna take it off and loosen your shirt like that?"

"Well, I gotta be presentable for the clients, but then the action starts and the clothes kind of get in the way. I wish I could go in my sport's wear."

"Right..." She said, with a look that meant 'you're not fooling me'. "Well, I have to admit : it's suits you more when you're roughed up a little. Saru looks better with a well worn suit though. Come on let's go."

"Give me a break. Can you stop complementing other guys when you're with me?" He said as they started walking hand in hand towards the elevators.

"What are you worried about? I'm your wife, Misaki. You don't have to get jealous. Come on let's hurry. If we're late Mr Mikoto is gonna fall asleep."

"Are you sure you're up for it? They'll understand if you're too tired you know..."

"I'm fine, it hasn't even been that long." She giggled.

"We can take a cab if you want..."

"Seriously, chill. I'm fine." She sighed and smiled at her husband. "You're even worst than the first times."

The ex-red clansman rubbed the back of his head and gave his wife an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, I can't help it."

"Well, I wouldn't have you any other way." She replied before kissing him on the cheek. "Let's walk."

The two ex-bounty hunters exited the building, him holding his wife by the waist and her leaning her head on his shoulder.

* * *

 **Taiga's POV**

Yata and I walked slowly and side-by-side, through the streets of HOMRA's old territory. The place hadn't changed much. It was still the place where punks hung out and shady business was going on. Well, at least that was how it was before HOMRA. It still had that air, but we knew it was safe. Even if the red clan didn't exist officially anymore, our reputation wasn't dead. Rumor had it that we were still here, hiding in the shadows and watching over these streets and the town at night. Which wasn't completely wrong. Since dissolving the gang years ago, everyone had taken different paths. But no matter where we were in the world or what we were doing, we always knew we had a common home to return to. A small, but surprisingly well kept bar in this part of town. I wiped my watering eye with the back of my hand.

"Hey, are you okay?" Asked Yata.

"Yeah, don't worry." I replied smiling. "This place always makes me nostalgic."

"Yeah? Same here."

"Well, well. What do we got here?" Said a voice from an alley, stopping us in our tracks. "You two look a little too nicely dressed for this part of town."

"Do we now?" I said, eying at my husband.

Four guys, younger than us at first glance came out of the alley, some of them carrying knifes. "How about you give us your necklace, pretty lady? We'll take good care of it. And like this we don't have to ruin your pretty face."

One of the other guys placed a hand on his shoulder. "Wait up man, maybe not here."

"Why the hell not? You scared of a shrimp and a girl? You're such a wuss."

"This is HOMRA turf..."

Yata and I looked at each other and he smirked at me.

"What a joke. They're gone! This turf is for the taking. The Red Gang hasn't been seen around for years. HOMRA's dead!"

The second he pronounced those words, I sent my foot in his face. His nose broke and he hit the wall with his back. At the same time, Yata threw a left hook in the other guy's face, sending him to the ground.

"HOMRA is dead, huh?" He growled, his eyes throwing daggers at the other ones. "You heard that Taiga?"

"Yes, I did." I placed my foot on the shoulder of the guy I'd just kicked and his eyes widened when he saw the stigma on my ankle.

"Y-y-you're HOMRA?" He stuttered, suddenly looking like a scared rabbit.

I gave him a cocky smile and Yata replied for me. He pulled his shirt down to show off his own stigma. "So you little punks still think were dead?"

"Symbol on the chest... no way. Y-you're Yatagarasu?!"

"In the flesh, scumbag." He snapped back. "Get the hell out of here all of you. If I ever see you on the red clan's turf again, you'll leave without your teeth next time. Get lost."

The first three quickly ran away. The fourth one at my feet, hurried back up and was about to follow his pals but Yata grabbed him by the collar and threw him back against the wall, throwing him a murderous glare.

"Not you."

"I-I didn't do anything!"

"Yes you did." He growled. "You threatened my wife."

The guy crashed on the ground after a solid punch to the jaw. He spat two teeth out before running away as fast as he could. I shook my head. "Really?"

"Not sorry." He replied stubbornly. "Besides, you shouldn't be fighting in your state."

"Yata, I'm not sick." I insisted.

I sighed knowing that I was never going to hear the end of it if I started arguing with him. Besides, he was right. So we resumed our walk until we reached that very familiar spot we loved so much. As we approached, I could hear familiar voices as well.

"Izumo, have you ordered the wine yet?" Asked a feminine voice.

"Yes. Do you want to add something to the list of groceries, Seri?"

"Yes. We're out of Zunda."

"Already? You're the only one that eats it though, Seri."

We pushed the door open and entered. The old bar hadn't changed. Still neatly clean, and with that very familiar and warm atmosphere that we loved so much. Mr Kusanagi and Ms Awashima were on each side of the counter, going over what seemed to be a list of things to order. They both looked at us when we entered and smiled.

"Taiga, Yata. Come on in." Said the bartender, going around his counter to come to us. He took us both in his arms briefly before letting go. "You look great, both of you."

"Thank you, Mr Kusanagi. You too." I turned to the ex-lieutenant of SCEPTER 4. "Hello Ms Seri." I greeted.

"It's good to see both of you." She replied, smiling.

The door opened behind us and we turned around. Kamamoto walked in. He'd lost weight and had regain his handsome "summer" appearance. "Yata!"

"Yo, Kamamoto."

"Ah, man it's so good to see you. It's been forever!" Said the newcomer smiling. "You look great Taiga."

"Thanks, you too Rikio. How's the motorcycle business working out?" I asked.

"Great actually. I got zero free time but work is awesome so you know... compensation."

We were interrupted by quick footsteps running down the stairs. A young woman with long silver colored hair held in a braid appeared down the staircase. She'd grown so much since last time. She was wearing white jeans, an elegant red shirt and red shoes. Her face lit up when she saw us.

"Misaki! Taiga!" She said, racing down before running into my arms.

"Hi Anna. Oh my gosh, you're taller than me now." I said as I hugged her.

The bartender chuckles. "And our red ladies have reunited."

"I have so many things to tell you." Started the ex-strain.

"Anna, let's wait for everyone to get here." Said Mr Kusanagi. "In the meantime, would you mind making some tea for everyone."

"Alright." She replied, before heading for the kitchen. "We'll talk after."

I found myself thinking that it didn't matter how much taller and more talkative she was than before, Anna remained the same sweet child as ever. It's good that some things never changed. We went to sit while waiting for everyone. Mr Mikoto woke up from his nap and joined us soon after. As usual, he looked exhausted and was smoking like a locomotive. But he was happy to see us.

"So Yata, how's work?" Asked Kamamoto. "I heard your company's doing great."

The ex-skateboarding captain sighed and let himself slide down on the couch. "Don't mention it. That stupid monkey's got me running all over the place, ordering me around and never telling me what his plans are."

"Haha. Same old Fushimi." Chuckled the blond clansman.

"Do you know what the others are up to, Rikio?" I asked.

"Well, Bando and Shohei have their restaurant opened now, and they're getting the attention. That's why they couldn't come today. They said to apologize for them."

Anna took out her phone and logged onto her Facebook account to search for photos. "Eric and Kosuke were in Mexico yesterday, so they should be in the US today. Look, here are the pictures." She said passing the phone around. "Shiro, Kuro and Neko are still in Germany for two weeks. Neko puts a lot of pictures, but it's better not to show them."

Eric and Kosuke had taken off on a world tour six months ago, after winning a lot of cash at some betting game. They were suppose to return in three months. As for Chitose and Dewa, none of us had any ideas what they were up to, but they regularly dropped by. Anna's theory was that they'd become spies. Surprisingly enough they showed up just after that, and as predicted dodged the questions.

"By the way, Miss Seri." Asked Yo, to change the subject. "How's the blue King's campaign going?"

"Oh yeah that's right." I said. "Mr Munakata is running for prime minister."

"I haven't talked with him in quite sometime, but knowing him, everything's going smoothly and according to plan." Affirmed the ex-lieutenant. "He's someone that rarely disappoints."

"Depends on who you're asking." Muttered Mr Mikoto, loud enough so everyone could hear and laugh. "What about you Taiga?"

"I finished learning Russian, I'm almost finished with German and I'm starting Portuguese next month. And the teaching job at the university isn't that bad. But I'm quitting at the end of the year."

All eyes turned to me surprised. "Why? Did you find a better job?"

"No, but in approximately eight months, I'm gonna have three kids in my house that need taking care of." I said smiling.

It took a few seconds for them to react. "No way! Another one?" Said Yo.

"Congratulations." Said Anna, hugging me.

"Yes, congratulations." Added Ms Seri.

Mr Mikoto smiled but said nothing. That was his way of showing his happiness for us.

"Have you told Kyo and Ichigen yet?"

"Yes, they're both hoping for a little sister." I said.

Masaomi grabbed Yata's shoulder from behind the couch. "Congrats, man. Good for you!"

"Thanks guys." Replied Yata who's cheeks were turning red, but he couldn't hide his smile. Even the embarrassment was no match for the happiness he was feeling. That we were feeling.

"Ah we have to celebrate! Do you have a champaign bottle Mr Kusanagi?"

"It's two in the afternoon Kamamoto." Replied the bartender lighting another cigarette.

"Besides, I'm done with alcohol for a while." I added.

The discussion got a lot more lively. We talked about the old days, about the present and about the future. Because it seemed like we were still evolving. Mr Kusanagi and Ms Awashima had been living together for a long time and had finally decided to get married. Rikio was dating a childhood friend of his named Ayumi and even Anna was going out with a boy from her school. The bounty hunting gang HOMRA was indeed gone. But we were still here, and still growing. The supernatural world, Kings, clansmen and strain, had moved on and adapted to that ordinary world from before. And those flames that we used to carry around, were forever in our hearts, uniting us as friends and family. My life was blessed. We kept talking for a couple of hours, until my phone rang and I stood up to answer it.

"Hello?"

" _Taiga!"_ Shouted a familiar voice in my ear, completely panicked and on the brink of tears. _"I'm so sorry! I only looked away for a minute I promise! I don't know how it happened!"_

"Whoa, slow down Megumi." I told my fifteen year old sister-in-law. "Take a breath. What's wrong?"

" _I just came back from the park with the boys. I went to the kitchen to get them a snack and when I came back, Kyo was gone! I looked everywhere, he's not in the house."_ I heard her sniffle on the outside. _"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have taken my eyes of them."_

My heart skipped a beat and then accelerated. I took a deep breath myself. Damn, pregnancy state! My body was giving the first signs of panic, and it took me a while to calm down. But not quick enough that Yata didn't notice. He jumped from his seat and joined my side.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Kyo's gone." I told him, still trying to control my own worry.

"WHAT?"

"Megu, is Ichigen with you?"

" _Yes."_

"Alright, stay with him. Yata and I will go look for Kyo. Did he say anything about forgetting his teddy, or going somewhere?"

" _No, but he was a little quieter than usual..."_ She said, and I clearly discerned the sobs in her voice.

"Sweetie, calm down." I told her. "We're going to find him. Just watch Ichi for me, alright?"

" _Okay..."_

I hung up and turned to my husband. "You go check out the park and I'll head home to see if he's there."

"Right!"

"Is everything okay?" Asked Anna, making all the attention in the room.

"Megumi was babysitting for us. Kyo's missing." I explained as Yata dashed out of the bar.

"Oh no, do you need help looking for him?"

"He can't have gone far. Can you guys look around the area around Yata's mom's house?"

Bando, Masaomi and Anna stood up. "We'll go."

"Thank you guys. Keep in touch."

I started heading for the door and Rikio followed me. "Wait, I'll drive you. You can't run in your state."

* * *

 **External POV**

"I have to be strong. I can't cry. I have to be strong."

Those words being repeated over and over belonged to a young boy standing in the middle of the street, clutching the shoulder straps of his backpack and desperately trying to keep the tears in. There was too much noise here, too many people and they were too big and too fast to notice the tiny five year old. Some of them bumped into him and yelled at him to be careful before walking away. His chestnut colored hair fell on his face, hiding the beautiful golden irises of his eyes. Finally tired of being pushed around, Kyo found an dark and narrow alley where no one could see him. It was dark in there and he was scared, but he couldn't go back there again. He'd just escaped. He was trapped between a dark tunnel and a hoard of monsters who could step on him at anytime. He found himself regretting his decision to leave his Grandma's house. He should have stayed with Ichi and Aunt Megu. It was too much for him now. The dam broke and the tears escaped, despite his best efforts to hold them in. He finally gave in and sobbed, alone and scared, in the darkness of the alley.

"Mama, Papa! Help me... I'm scared."

A low growl coming from the darkest part of the alley made him look up in fear. Two big yellow eyes were slowly getting closer, accompanied by heavy breaths. The same kind Kyo had always imagined would come out of a dragon's throat when they were about to devour their prey. He wanted to move but his little legs were paralyzed. Then, the monster came out into the light. He was an enormous black dog, big enough to swallow him whole. The beast approached until it was only inches away from the little boy's face. Kyo didn't dare make a noise or even breath. He backed up against the wall and the tears streamed endlessly down his face. The monster stayed a long time staring at him, before it opened it's mouth … and licked the little boy's tears off his face.

"You're … not eating me?" Questioned the terrified and surprised five year old.

The animal only licked his face again as a response. Then, the dog turned away and ran before disappearing at the end of the alley. Kyo started sobbing again, a little out of relief this time, but also because he remembered how alone he was. He cried so much he didn't hear the footsteps of the dog returning and those that accompanied them.

"Are you alright, little man?" Asked a gentle voice.

Kyo looked and saw the big dog again. And kneeling next to the animal, was a man. He was wearing a strange attire. The smile of that man was reassuring, but the five year old remembered his parents warning him about strangers. He quickly wiped his tears, remembering what his father said about being strong.

"I'm fine. I'm not lost or anything." He said stubbornly looking away.

The man chuckled. "You know, if you stay in the dark it's going to be hard for anyone to find you."

"But people push me when I'm in the light..." Explained the little one, looking at the ground.

"It's true but when you're in the light, those who love you can find you." Explained the man. "How about we come with you? That way people won't be able to push you."

"Mama says not to talk to strangers."

"I see. So we have to get to know each other before you can accept my help?"

The man sat on the ground next to the boy and the dog did the same at his feet. "So what's your name?"

"Kyo Yata, I'm five years old. I live in Shizume, my address is …." He recited as he was taught in school. "And my dad is Yatagarasu!"

The man's eyebrows shot up. "Yatagarasu? How scary! He must be really strong."

A proud smile appeared on the boy's face. "Yeah! My papa's the strongest man in the world!"

"I'm sure he's very proud of his son."

The smile on Kyo's face disappeared and his golden irises looked at the ground again. "No. He's not, because I'm weak."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't do anything. And I'm scared. Papa's never scared."

"Of course he is." Said the man, earning himself the surprised eyes of the boy. "You can't be brave if you're not scared. Tell me Kyo, where were you going when you got lost?"

"I was trying to go home. Ichi forgot his teddy and he was sad, so I wanted to go get it for him."

"Ichi? Is that your little brother?"

"Yeah. But I got lost instead."

A hand fell on his chestnut mane and ruffled his hair. "I think it's plenty brave for a little guy to take on the world like you did for your little brother. It proves that you are a good big brother, Kyo. Kindhearted and brave. You're not weak."

"Are you sure, Mister? Because I feel pretty weak."

"Trust me. I'm sure your dad will tell you the same thing." The man suddenly stood up and offered a hand. "Come on. It's time to take you home."

The golden-eyed boy got back to his feet and grabbed the man's hand. He squeezed it tight when they got back into the crowded street, but the man was very tall. No one could not notice him or not notice the big Rottweiler that was walking on the other side of him. They were making a protective wall against the people who wouldn't see him. It was a familiar wall. Just like when Papa and Mama were holding each a hand and they were walking together. The thought made the young boy smile and giggle. The tall man looked at him, curiously.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"I'm not scared anymore." Replied Kyo proudly. "It's like magic."

Curiously, Kyo had no trouble keeping up with the man and the dog's pace. Usually, adults walked faster so he'd be dragged a little. Like with Papa. But this man and the dog walked as slowly as he did. But he was to young to be able to put any significance in that fact. Something much more interesting had caught the attention of the five year old already.

"Mister, why are you wearing a dress?" Pointing at his robes.

The comment made the man laugh. "This is a kasaya."

"I heard uncle Kuro talked about that!" Exclaimed Kyo, happy to show off his knowledge. "Then you're a monk?"

"You can say that."

"But then why do you still have your hair?"

"I'm not obligated to shave my head."

"What does obligated mean?"

"It means I don't have to." Patiently explained the man, who seemed to be enjoying the exchange as much as the little man, as they walked through the streets. "Can I ask you a question too Kyo?"

"Hm?"

"Is your little brother's name Ichigen?"

The boy's eyes widened. "How did you guess? Are you psychic Mister?"

"Lucky guess."

"It was Grandpa's name. We don't know him because he's already gone but uncle Kuro talks about him all the time." He suddenly looked at the ground disappointed. "Ichi got Grandpa's name. I was named after Grandma Kyoko. By the way Mister, what's your name?"

"My name?" The man hesitated a moment before answering. "It's unimportant. I couldn't help but notice that you have beautiful eyes Kyo."

"Mama has the same." His voice suddenly got lower and he whispered. "Do you want to know a secret? When Mama was younger, she could see into the future!"

"Really? How interesting." Commented the monk as he kept leading the boy in one direction.

* * *

 **Taiga's POV**

Rikio dropped me off at the corner of my street before going back to help Yata and the others look around my mother-in-law's neighborhood. I raced down the street as fast as I could given my condition, and quickly reached my house. I went inside and called out for my son, looking in every corner. Once I was sure I'd turned around every speck of dust, I let myself fall in my couch sighing and wiping the sweat off my face.

"Kyo, where are you?"

A wave of paranoia invaded my mind and I started imagining the worst possible scenario : kidnapped, attacked, mugged, worse... But suddenly, I heard a giggle. Not just any giggle, it was Kyo's. And it was coming form outside. I immediately jumped out of my seat and ran out of my house. At the end of the street, my little boy was walking hand in hand with a tall man in a buddhist priest outfit. But my eyes were solely focused on my son. I ran towards them.

"Kyo!" I called out.

"Mama!" He replied, letting go of the stranger's hand and running towards me.

I fell on my knees and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Where were you? You know you're not suppose to go anywhere without telling Grandma or Aunt Megumi. Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"I'm sorry Mama." Replied Kyo, his red eyes watering again. "I wanted to go get Ichi's teddy."

I sighed in relief, and hugged my son as hard as I could, thanking god for the person who had brought him home. I looked up at the man in the buddhist clothes.

"Thank you so mu..."

My voice died in my throat when I realized no one was there anymore. Not the man and not the dog. I stood back up and looked around for the man but he was nowhere to be seen. I guessed he didn't want to be thanked. But a strange feeling was telling me that I'd missed something important. My son, however, seemed disappointed. Just like me he was looking around with his eyes to search for his savior.

"I wanted to play with Tux a little more." He let out, pouting a little.

My eyes widened in shock and surprise. "Did you say Tux?"

"TAIGA!" Shouted a voice from the other end of the street. "KYO!"

Both Kyo and I turned around to see Yata running as fast as he could towards us. Kyo's face lit up and he ran to his father, who took him in his arms the second he was in reach.

"Yata! Watch Kyo for me!" I shouted before running in the opposite direction, ignoring my husband calling me and telling me to wait.

* * *

 **External POV**

After having bought a coke from the vending machine, the woman walked back to the small park and to the bench where the monk was waiting. She sat down next to him and gave him the can.

"So you saw her?" Asked Lana. He simply nodded and opened the can. "How did she look?"

"Happy." He replied. "She deserves it."

"You got that right." Commented the woman smiling. "Are you sure you don't want to talk to her?"

"No. Seeing me would bring a useless memories and worry. She's made a life for herself now. Me barging in would confuse her and she'll try to reconnect with me. I can't do that." He explained. "No I just wanted to get a glimpse."

"Don't you think she'd want to see you?" She asked petting the old Rottweiler's head.

"Knowing her, probably. But the result would be the same. It's better if she doesn't." He lifted the can to his lips and slowly drank the highly sugared drink. "Besides, what would I tell her?"

"You can start with hello." Said a voice behind them. "I know Shizume like the back of my hand and I used to be a bounty hunter. Did you really think I wouldn't be able to find you?"

Both people looked to the side to see Taiga, exhaling heavily trying to catch her breath, sweat dripping down her face but throwing him a determined and slightly irritated look. Both their mouths dropped open in chock. She tumbled a little and Lana jumped to her feet to help her, fearing she'd fall.

* * *

 **Taiga's POV**

"Be careful! Are you sick? What's wrong?" The french woman asked placing a hand on my forehead to take my temperature. "Here, sit down." She ordered, making me sit on the bench next to Ryu, who still seemed too stunned to speak.

"You really shouldn't make pregnant woman run around like that." I scolded.

"Pregnant?!" Said Lana. "Y-you're going to have a baby?"

"That's what pregnant means Lana." I said, a little annoyed.

She just stared and muttered a holy shit, before hugging me as hard as she could, almost choking me. She then threw a reproachful look to the monk. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"How could I have guessed?" He replied, shrugging.

"I can't believe this." She suddenly sounded like a proud big sister. "Yoru's gonna have a mini Yoru!"

"I already have two kids Lana."

"THIS IS YOUR THIRD ONE?!" She shouted.

"Lana! I'm really glad to see you but would you mind giving us a little space?" I asked, pushing the overbearing woman away. "We need to talk."

She suddenly returned to her normal self and nodded before straightening up. "I'll go see if I can get you some water." She said before walking away, with Tux following closely.

I waited for her to be out of earshot before turning to the man in the kasaya and threw him an angry glare. "So, care to tell me why you're avoiding me?"

"I thought you seeing me would complicate things..."

"Complicate things? It's been seven years Ryu! The least you could do is give me what I'm owed! It's way past time you apologize properly, instead of watching me from the shadows like some stalker!"

"Yoru..."

"No!" I interrupted, too angry to let him try and talk his way out of this. "Apologize to me. Now!"

He looked at me surprised for a long time, before letting out a long sigh and smiling to himself. "I can't win against you, can I? And here I thought I'd just get a glimpse and be on my way... Your intuition is too much for me."

"Fess up already!" I growled. "I'm pissed off enough as it is."

He chuckled before taking a deep breath. Hi face became serious and he looked at me in the eyes this time. The way he was staring at me broke my heart, as I could see the pain reflecting in his irises. "I'm sorry Yoru. For Kyoko. For your friends. And for causing you so much pain."

I waited a moment before answering. "Took you long enough." I said with a reproachful tone. "So, you became a monk?"

"You could say that. I spent a long time in a temple in India."

"I see. Did you come back to Japan just to 'get a glimpse' of me?"

"Believe it or not but yes. I wanted to see you one more time. See what kind of life you'd made for yourself. But I have to say, I didn't expect to meet your son. He looks just like HOMRA's crow with your eyes."

I frowned. "What do you mean 'see me one more time'? One more time before what?"

"We're leaving this evening. Lana is taking me to southern France."

"So ..." I asked, still not sure I understood. "You're leaving your temple for good? You talk as if this is the end of the …."

I interrupted myself to observe him closer. Now that I looked closer, I realized how much paler than before he was. And even skinnier than before. I could clearly see his collarbone under his skin and even his hand bones. His face was as handsome as ever, but the beauty didn't hide the bags under his eyes. This wasn't the first time I was seeing him like this, but the last time must have been at least twelve or thirteen years ago. Just before he became a King actually. Ryu had always had a weak constitution. He couldn't run or play sports for long, his body couldn't take it. That's why he was so smart, because he spent a lot more time in his books. But he'd still faint for no good reason. And when he was about sixteen, the doctors told him that he had a rare disease that was making his body weaker and weaker by the years and that he wouldn't live long. Surprisingly enough, the next day the sword of Damocles appeared above the mansion and he became the Purple King. After that, the medical exams were drastically changed. It was like the disease had disappeared. Not only that but the purple aura gave him new strength. He was stronger than anyone and could do everything he'd never been able to do in the past.

"You won't see me again." He confessed looking at me.

I turned to him and grabbed his arm, like I was afraid he'd just disappear. "You're dying, aren't you?" I asked.

He sighed. "I've always had a fragile constitution. You knew I was sick."

"But I thought your King powers healed you!"

"All it did was give me strength and stop the progress of the disease." He explained. "Not long after I lost the purple aura, I started getting weaker and weaker. Soon, I won't be able to walk alone anymore."

"How long?" I asked, not really wanting to know.

"Ten months. A year if I'm lucky." He replied.

My grip on his arm tightened and I clenched my teeth. I wouldn't be able to explain why though. Actually that was a lie. Because the truth was that I never stopped considering Ryu someone close to me. And I didn't want him to die. As I didn't let go, he placed his hand on mine.

"Don't feel bad for me,Yoru." He said. "I'm not afraid of death. And I was more than satisfied to have seen you again. Besides, you don't have time to feel down over me. You have people that need you."

"So what? You're just gonna go find a lonely mountain where you can go hermit and die on your own?" I said, suddenly angry. "Is that what you want?"

"You're so kind, to still worry about me after all this time."

"You're my friend, Ryu. A terrible one, but a friend none the less." I said. "No one wants their friends to die alone."

"I won't be alone. Lana won't leave me, no matter what I say to her."

"Don't you want to stay here? In your house and your country?" I asked. "Won't you miss it?"

"The only thing I will miss here is you. But you and I broke Yoru. I broke us, and no matter what we do, fixing it would take a lot longer than I have left. And you're not the only person I've hurt. After your amnesia, you built yourself a new life and I was not in it. It wouldn't be good for anyone if I forced myself back into that circle you've been building for over seven years. Not for you or for me."

His explanation made sense, but it didn't please me. I was trying to find a reason to be mad at him and have him owe me again. Because if I didn't find anything, he would walk out of my life for the third time. And for good this time. It was ironic really : I'd managed to stop myself from looking or even thinking about this story for seven years. He showed up and five minutes later, I was still trying to repair that broken bond from so long ago. My grip on his arm loosened as my own logic was being made clear to me.

"Allow me to ask one more selfish thing of you, Yoru." I looked up at him. "Please let me go. Let me go and go back to that life that you made for yourself, the one that makes you happy."

Ryu clearly had his mind made up. He wanted to walk out of my life for good, because somehow that bond of ours was hurting both of us. Trying to repair it would only make it worse. It felt weird to realize it just now. I tightened my grip again.

"Promise me then." I said looking at him straight in the eyes. "Promise me you won't be alone when you go."

He nodded. I exhaled for a long time and then loosened my grip completely.

"Thank you Yoru." Said the man that used to be the purple King, smiling at me. "Thank you for being part of my life."

"Well damn you." I replied, as the corner of my eyes started to water. "Damn you for being part of mine."

He smiled at me, and then suddenly looked up when he heard footsteps running towards us. I turned around and saw my husband heading towards us. I stood up to meet him. "Taiga! Don't just run off like that. It's not healthy for you!"

"Sorry." I apologized. "Where's Kyo?"

"I left him with the neighbors." He explained quickly. His eyes then fell on Ryu.

"Hello Misaki Yata." Greeted the ex-purple King. "It's been a while."

Yata frowned. "So it really was you. I had my doubts but then Kyo told me about the dog. What are you doing here?"

I placed a hand on my husband's shoulder. "It's okay Yata. He's leaving."

"That's not what I asked, Taiga." He almost snapped, giving me a reproachful look before turning back to Ryu. "Tell me why you came here."

"To say goodbye to an old friend." He replied. "You will not see me again."

"Is that so?" Replied the ex-red clansman, skeptical.

Ryu nodded and they both stared at each other for a long time, while I didn't know what to do. A bark pulled them out of their stare off and we saw Lana return, holding a water bottle in her hand. She hurried to Ryu's side when she saw Yata.

"There's no need to pick a fight." She told him. "We're not here to do anything."

Yata frowned at her as well, so she turned away and tossed me the water bottle that I caught. _*"_ _Ne te fatigues plus comme ça, d'accord Yoru?_ _"_

Ryu slowly stood up. "Let's go Lana."

"Alright." Replied the french woman. "I guess I'll see you sometime next year Yoru. You'll have to introduce your kids to me. In the meantime, take care of her, HOMRA's crow."

Yata sweat dropped. "They're my kids too, you know..." He mumbled.

My eyes met Ryu's one last time. But there was nothing left to be said. We had said our goodbyes, saying more would just ruin it all. I just looked at him and he smiled once before turning away.

"Hey!" Yata called out after they'd taken a couple of steps, stopping them in their tracks. "Thanks for bringing my son home. I won't forget it." He declared with a determined look in his eyes.

"You're welcome."

Yata and I watched them walk away, slowly as Lana was adjusting her speed to the slow strides of Ryu and of the old Rottweiler. When they reached the end of the park, I saw Lana hail a taxi that they got in. The wind blew in our faces and played with our hair. This was the last chance I had to stop him. My last chance to try to save the last remains of that bond that I used to desperately want to save. All I had to do was run, stop the car and try to reason with Ryu again. I could. But instead of running, I took a deep breath before shouting.

"You're forgiven, Ryu!"

I don't know if he heard me since his window was up, but as the taxi drove away, I thought I saw him looking back at me. It's strange. I thought for sure I'd cry or something. But I didn't. In fact, I didn't feel depressed or sad. I just had a weird sensation taking over me. Like melancholia but also satisfaction at the same time. But I didn't realize that I was squeezing my husband's hand so hard that my nails were digging in his skin. Yata turned to me.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine." I simply replied, uncertain myself.

"Good."

Before I realized what he was doing, he grabbed my arm and placed it around his neck before picking me up bridal style. My cheeks turned red and I looked at him with confusion.

"What are you doing?"

"You've been moving way too much for someone pregnant!" He scolded. "No more running around. We're going home." He insisted.

"You don't have to go that far. I can walk..."

The glare he threw me and the vein popping out on his forehead sent shivers down my spine and kept me from trying to persuade him any further. Just when did he get that scary? On the other hand he was right. And it wasn't only me he was taking care of now. I smiled to myself as he was walking back to our place.

"Why are you smiling?" He asked.

"No reason. I was just thinking what a great dad you are." I replied.

He grinned. "Well, I gotta be worthy of you, right?"

Damn, and there I was hoping to make him blush. Yata really had matured over the years and it was becoming harder and harder to tease him.

"By the way, I called Megumi. She's bringing Ichi back."

"Great, thank you." I said before kissing him on the cheek.

"Hey, are you sure you're okay?"

I leaned my head on his shoulder and thought about it for few minutes. "It's strange. I just said goodbye to him forever, but I don't feel like I lost something. On the contrary, it's like I got some closure from this. I'm glad he's not alone."

"You could have tried to stop him."

"No. No matter how sad this feels, I made the right choice to let him go. Ryu has been cast out of my life eight years ago. I have my life now." I explained, and straightened up. "I have a wonderful husband, two beautiful boys, friends. My life here in Shizume that I made with you doesn't include Ryu. And honestly, I don't want it to. Is what I'm saying making sense at all?" I asked my husband.

"Doesn't matter. As long as things are the way they should be and you're happy, I don't give a damn about the reasoning." He said with a big smile on his face.

We returned home and reunited with Kyo, and a couple of hours later, Megumi brought back Ichigen. She apologized again for the trouble and it took a while for her to understand that I was in no way holding a grudge against her. She ended up crying in my arms. She was just a kid herself after all. We called everyone to tell them everything was alright and that they could stop the search. Then, in the evening, Yata made dinner and after sending my boys to bed, I sat in my living room looking over my oldest photo album. The one with my mom's picture in it. I'd added a bunch of pictures from my time in HOMRA. I got lost in thought until a pair of arms circled around my neck.

"Feeling nostalgic?" He asked, kissing my head.

"A little." I took a deep breath and closed the album. "I can't believe how cheesy this is gonna sound but I want this to last forever."

"We've had a pretty good start, don't you think?" He placed a warm hand on my stomach.

"Yeah, definitely."

We stared and smiled at each other before getting closer but a muffled giggle and a not so discreet 'shh' stopped us.

"Looks like the walls have ears." I whispered.

Yata smiled and placed a finger on his lips before tip-toeing to the couch. He carefully looked over it before throwing himself behind and grabbing his sons by the back of their shirts. Both screamed in surprise and laughed when they got lifted off the ground.

"Gottcha!" Said Yata, who was having as much fun as the boys.

I stood up from my seat. "I thought I put you two in bed half an hour ago." I said placing my hand on my hips. "What were you two doing hiding back there?"

Kyo looked at the ground, as his face was flushing a little and my youngest answered instead. "Kyo was afraid you'd pick our little sister's name without us." Said the three year old.

"No, I wasn't!" Protested the oldest. "Shut up Ichi, you moron!"

"Young man, what kind of language is that?"

"But Mama, Papa talks like that all the time to uncle Saru!"

I threw an angry glare at Yata who gave me an apologetic smile. "Just because Papa does it, doesn't mean it's right." I said. "I don't want to hear you talk like that to your little brother, you hear me?"

"Yes, Mama."

"Now what was that about us picking a name without you?"

"We want to name her too!" Said Ichigen, wiggling in his father's grip. He seemed as happy as playing puppy.

"You know your sibling might end up being a little brother."

"No! It's a girl!" Insisted Ichigen.

I sighed and picked up my youngest son before sitting in the couch where Yata and Kyo joined us. "Alright, Mr clairvoyant. IF it's a girl, what do you want to call her?"

"What's a cavoyant?" He asked.

"It's what Mama used to be, stup..." I threw a dark look at Kyo, who immediately cut the insult out of his sentence. "It's when people can tell the future."

"Hmm..."

While both boys seemed lost in thought, I smiled at them. Kyo was the spitting portrait of his father. Same chestnut hair, same face. He only had my eyes. Ichigen on the other hand had a much lighter hair color, somewhere between very light brown and sandy. But he had brown eyes, and my mother's face as well.

"I know!" Said Ichigen, getting our attention. "Tenshi!"

"Tenshi?" Said Yata. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"Uncle Yo says that it's a good name for all the girls!"

I slapped my own face. 'Yo, you are never approaching my boys again.' I made a mental note. It could have disastrous consequences!

"That's … not really a name sweetie. More like a nickname. Any ideas Kyo?"

"Akane." Said the eldest after some reflexion.

"It's a nice name." I said. "But why Akane?"

"Because Anna always says that it's a beautiful red that brought you together."

"And Akane means brilliant red." I smiled and looked at Yata who seemed to really like the sound of that. "What do you think, Ichi? Do you like Akane?"

"Well... I don't know any other girl names except Anna, Megumi, Ome, Seri, Neko, Ayumi... But we can't use them..."

"It'll be a little confusing if we use those." I explained.

"I like red so I like Akane!" Decided the little man.

"Akane it is then." Said Yata.

"IF it's a girl." I insisted.

The four of us ended up falling asleep on the couch, discussing wether or not my third child would be a girl or a boy. We'd managed to convince them that we should prepare a boy's name too. Ichigen decided on Kagami for us. I woke up the earliest the next morning, as a gentle sun was bathing our living room in it's warm light. Yata had both his sons cuddled up against him, Kyo on his chest and Ichi on his lap. They were too cute like this, I couldn't help but snap a picture. Then I stayed a long moment watching the sleeping faces of the three boys I loved the most in the world. I instinctively placed a hand on my stomach.

"Hurry up and get here Akane or Kagami." I muttered. "Hurry up and join your family who loves you so much already."

Yata's growling brought me back to reality and I almost laughed when I saw his bed hair. "Did we fall asleep here?" He asked before yawning.

"Shh!" I said, as he got off the couch. "Don't wake the kids."

He grabbed the couch's cover and placed it on his still sleeping sons. He then approached me and took me in his arms gently as to not crush me. I hugged him back.

"What did I do to deserve so much affection so early in the morning?" I asked.

He chuckled. "If I made the list of things you did to deserve it, it'd take an entire year. And I'm already late for work. Saru's gonna chew me out."

He freed me from his grip and looked at me with a sweet smile. "Do you want breakfast?" I asked him.

"Na, I'm late already."

"You should really eat somethin..."

My sentence was interrupted when he captured my lips. I felt the blood rush to my face and closed my eyes to enjoy the kiss better. It was long and sweet. He pulled away a few seconds later.

"Thanks for the meal." He said before grabbing his vest (he was still wearing yesterday's suit). "I'll buy something on the way. See you this evening."

He quickly exited the house and I heard the car take off. I shook my head and sigh. 'What happened to my blush-at-the-drop-of-a-hat-for-no-good-reason Misaki?' Did this man even realize how happy he was making me? Knowing him, probably not. I turned to the two miniature Yatas and kissed them both on the head.

"Wake up sleepy heads. Time for breakfast."

* * *

 _*French : Don't tire yourself like that anymore, alright Yoru?_

* * *

 **So there you have it : I'm a sucker for cheesy happy endings. But let's face it, they deserved it.**

 **I would really appreciate it if you all left your final thought on the whole story in the reviews. Thank you so much for all your support all this time!**

 **WHAT NOW? : now's the time to give me your ideas for bonus scenes if you have any. The story will be marked as COMPLETE but don't pay any attention to that. If you have ideas, I'm all ears!**


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